You already do it for fun, but now you have the King’s blessing to drop your ‘R’s and flaunt your best cockney.
VisitBritain, the national tourism agency, has launched a new online game called ‘Fake (Br)it Till You Make It’ as part of its multi-million pound international campaign in Canada for 2023. The aim of the campaign is to drive tourism to Britain by highlighting the richness of the country’s regional diversity.
The game, which can be found on VisitBritain‘s consumer website (but note, it’s mobile only!), uses machine learning to test players as they try to master a variety of accents from across Britain.
In our play test, we appreciated the charming video intro to each region’s accents, where the player is able to get a great frame of reference to a particular area’s parlance because making an ‘arse’ of themselves by trying to imitate it directly on their phone’s microphone.
Once they record their version of the prompted slang (we tried Essex first), the system takes a few second to scan the recording and give them a score of how they did.
Participants are then encouraged to share their results on social media and challenge their friends using the hashtag #FakeBritChallenge. The game also provides links to destination information to help drive bookings.
The ‘Fake (Br)it Till You Make It’ campaign has been developed to play on the idea of shared language between Canada and Britain.
Fostering the affectionate feelings between Brits and Canucks
According to VisitBritain’s research, feelings of welcome and connection are top motivators for Canadian travellers when choosing a holiday destination. The campaign builds on existing cultural ties by inviting visitors to learn more about the accents they have heard through British film and TV and by highlighting the personal connections and fun, unexpected experiences to be found on their next trip to Britain.
The multi-media marketing campaign will use a mix of on- and-offline channels, including social media, influencers, custom content partners, digital display and audio advertising, to drive traffic to a landing page on VisitBritain.com with ideas and links to activities, attractions and experiences. Branded content will feature a variety of local phrases alongside destination images, and a series of short films will see Brits sharing a warm welcome in local accents and dialects promoting their destinations, encouraging visitors to come and explore for themselves.
Our priority is to harness the strong recovery and growth we have seen from Canada, and we are delighted to be running this dedicated and playful campaign, tapping into motivations to travel right now.
VisitBritain Executive Vice President, The Americas, Australia and New Zealand Paul Gauger
This innovative game puts Britain’s diversity front and centre, using modern technology to engage players, tell the story of our dynamic destinations and inspire Canadian visitors to discover more, stay longer and explore year-round.
The international GREAT Britain marketing campaign invites visitors to ‘See Things Differently’, showcasing Britain as a dynamic, diverse and exciting destination, packed full of activities to come and enjoy now, with a warm British welcome at its heart.
The campaign will also capture major events in 2023, including the Coronation of King Charles III and Liverpool hosting the Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Ukraine, both taking place in May.
Overall, the VisitBritain campaign aims to build on existing cultural ties between Canada and Britain by inviting visitors to explore the diversity of Britain’s regional accents and to discover the personal connections and fun, unexpected experiences to be found on their next trip to Britain.
Check out the game here: https://www.visitbritain.com/en/app/accents#/
