{"id":3862,"date":"2023-05-01T21:59:06","date_gmt":"2023-05-01T21:59:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/teemoore\/?p=3862"},"modified":"2026-05-02T11:09:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T11:09:39","slug":"pure-michigan-still-crazy-good-after-all-these-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/teemoore\/golf\/3862\/pure-michigan-still-crazy-good-after-all-these-years","title":{"rendered":"Pure Michigan: Still Crazy Good After All These Years"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"pure-michigan-logo\"<\/a>Think back to the years of 2006-08. It was a rough period for Michigan and the country. It was the start of the Great Recession when the economy was in tatters and unemployment was surging. The city of Detroit was mired in severe financial difficulties as was the domestic auto industry.\u00a0 <\/span>In short, it wasn\u2019t a happy period in our state\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

With this as a grey backdrop, the State of Michigan and its Travel Michigan office decided to launch a new tourism program aimed at promoting the state\u2019s many attractive features, especially its physical beauty. It ended up being called \u201cPure Michigan\u201d and it was a game changer.<\/p>\n

Recently, I spoke to someone instrumental in that award-winning campaign that\u2019s still flourishing 17 years later.<\/p>\n

Always an admirer of the ad spots created for Pure Michigan, I chatted with Mark Canavan, then the creative director for McCann-Erickson, the huge Detroit-based agency that made the pitch to land the account in 2006.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe went to Lansing and made our presentation, centering around the theme of \u201c\u2018finding your true north,\u2019\u201d said Canavan. \u201cWhen we got back to the office, the agency had already received a phone call from Lansing saying they loved our work and were happy to give us the account. That rarely happens that fast in our business.\u201d<\/p>\n

But there was one big catch.<\/p>\n

\"Mark<\/a>

Mark Canavan<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThey told us the tagline of ‘finding your true north’ wouldn\u2019t work,\u201d said Canavan, now the Executive Creative Director for ReBuild Group in Detroit. \u201cWith so many regions of the state needing to be highlighted, the campaign\u2019s tagline couldn\u2019t be interpreted as solely focusing on northern Michigan,\u201d recalled Canavan.<\/p>\n

Thrown this curve ball, Canavan and his team assembled in a conference room, brainstorming and throwing out dozens of ideas and new taglines.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn that meeting, someone mentioned \u201cpure\u201d as a keyword and someone else made the point that it would be smart to have \u201cMichigan\u201d included, as well.\u201d Presto! \u201cPure Michigan\u201d was born.<\/p>\n

\u201cI give George Zimmerman, the Vice-President of the Travel Michigan Bureau at the time, full credit for his vision of making Michigan a national destination even in that uncertain period of time for the state,\u201d said Canavan, a life-long Michigander raised in metro Detroit.<\/p>\n

\"Tim<\/a>

Tim Allen<\/p><\/div>\n

Similar to the rocky start of finding the right tagline, Canavan\u2019s introduction to the actor Tim Allen, the voice of the Pure Michigan commercials, was also precarious.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the initial recording session, we rented a studio in Phoenix, AZ, where Tim was on location for a film and I was going to direct him by phone from Southfield. We only had the studio for two hours which I thought was plenty of time,\u201d said Canavan.<\/p>\n

The celebrated voice of Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story <\/i>movies, Allen began reading the scripts prepared by Canavan and his team. \u201cIt just wasn\u2019t working,\u201d said Caravan. \u201cHe sounded like Buzz and it didn\u2019t fit. After more than an hour, we didn\u2019t have anything. After many attempts, I finally said, \u2018Tim, remember the days growing up and listening to the radio and hearing those voices?\u2019 Go in that direction.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

It clicked and Allen found that authentic and reassuring voice for Pure Michigan. \u201cI literally got goosebumps when he first read it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAfterwards, I heard Tim was so frustrated with those extra takes he said he wanted to crawl through the telephone line and strangle me,\u201d said Canavan laughing.<\/p>\n

The other element of the commercials was the music chosen. It was taken from the movie\u00a0Cider House Rules,<\/em>\u00a0the 1999 film whose score was nominated for an Oscar and composed by Rachel Portman.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat was different about the music is that we used it throughout the campaign. Usually, you change it with new ads but we didn\u2019t,\u201d said Canavan. \u201cWe wanted the music to act as a trigger to put the listener in a certain mental space.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>Again, it matched up perfectly.<\/p>\n

Of course, besides Tim Allen as the voice and music from Cider House Rules<\/em>, there were the marvelously crafted scripts that helped define the essence of the Pure Michigan spots.<\/p>\n

Canavan says the secret sauce of the script came down to a timeless conversation between the spot and the listener<\/p>\n

\u201cPure Michigan never told you what to do here but rather how you\u2019re gonna feel,\u201d said Canavan.<\/p>\n

Indicative of that theme was a spot called \u201cSunrise\u201d written by Canavan\u2019s colleague Dave Moore. Here are the words:<\/p>\n

25,000 mornings, give or take, is all we humans get. We spend them on treadmills, spend them in traffic and if we get lucky, really lucky, it dawns on us to go spend them in a world where a simple sunrise can still be magic. 25,000 mornings. Make sure some of them are Pure Michigan. Your trip begins at <\/i>michigan.org<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019m also partial to a spot called \u201c14 Clubs,\u201d written by Canavan, admittedly an 18-handicap golfer but one well-versed in the game.<\/p>\n

14 Clubs. That\u2019s what they tell is the legal golf bag can hold. While that leaves a little room for balls and tees it doesn\u2019t leave room for much else. No room for deadlines or conference calls. Not a single pocket to hold the stress of the day or the to-do list of tomorrow. Only 14 Clubs. Pick out the right one and drive it right down the middle of Pure Michigan. Your golf trip begins at <\/i>michigan.org<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

Canavan said the Michigan travel website received hundreds of messages and letters praising the ads and eliciting an unexpected outcome.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt woke up a sense of pride in Michigan,\u201d said Canavan.<\/p>\n

Years ago, after the Pure Michigan<\/i> campaign was well established, I met a travel bureau executive from another Midwest state. When she learned I was from Michigan, she immediately said, \u201cI\u2019m so sick and tired of hearing those commercials. Please make them stop; they\u2019re too effective,\u201d she said with a wry smile.<\/p>\n

That initial campaign garnered several Mercury awards, known as the Oscars of the state tourism councils: Best State Tourism Advertising Campaign (2007), Best State Tourism Television Commercials (2007), and Best State Tourism Radio Campaign (2008), Best State Tourism Radio Advertising (2009) and Best State Tourism Niche Marketing (2009). Moreover, for five straight years, it was deemed the best radio advertising.<\/p>\n

Fast forward to\u00a0 <\/span>2023. The Pure Michigan campaign is still going strong but with a new iteration. Launched last month, this year\u2019s theme is \u201cKeep it Fresh,\u201d aimed at welcoming and inspiring visitors via fresh perspectives and voices. Detroit poet jessica (yes, lowercase j) Care Moore will be one of those voices for the TV campaign and with new music by Michigan-based Assemble Sound.<\/p>\n

Rest assured, the familiar voice of Tim Allen will still be heard in a conversational duet with Moore.<\/p>\n

And fully expect some out-of-state Travel officials to be \u2018sick and tired\u2019 of it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(Note: Special thanks to Bob Drake for lending advice and direction on this story.)<\/p>\n

Images courtesy of Travel Michigan, ReBuild Group, and The Movie Database<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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