Louisville Shines as Bourbon City in New National Tourism Campaign

Barrel-aged bourbon mixed with a splash of style and sophistication is the recipe for a new nationwide tourism campaign crafted by Doe-Anderson, an independent full-service agency with offices in Louisville, KY, and Columbus, Ohio. 

Created for Louisville Tourism, the Bourbon City campaign targets cities within a day’s drive or with direct flights to the city, including Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, and St. Louis. Multichannel elements include television, radio, print, digital and out-of-home.

”’Bourbon City’ seems quite the contradiction for those whose love of bourbon is grounded in images of scenic distilleries, ageing barrels and picturesque pastures,” explained Leyla Touma Dailey, president and chief creative officer. “While all of that is true, there’s a vibrant centre to that irresistible imagery, and that somewhere is Louisville - where bourbon meets the world. This campaign invites bourbon fans to explore it.”

Recently named one of the best places to visit in 2023 by The New York Times, Louisville is home to a growing tourism scene fueled by a love of all things bourbon. Today, Kentucky is home to 95 distilleries, up from just 19 in 2009. The bourbon industry now generates an estimated $9 billion annually.

“This new campaign showcases Louisville’s central role in the world of bourbon — and a weekend getaway – in an elevated and unexpected way,” said Stacey Yates, chief marketing officer at Louisville Tourism. “Bourbon tourism has been leading the growth of our destination and this campaign will cement Louisville’s role as THE Bourbon City.”

Director Matt Bieler, of JOJX, noted: "Travelling is intoxicating. All of our sensors tingle when we visit a new place. I wanted this campaign to embody that feeling and be as unique and surprising as the city we were capturing. It’s a celebration of Louisville, not only as a city but as a character, a living, breathing world ripe with history, texture, interesting people, and exceptional Bourbon.”

Louisville’s Bourbon stature continues to develop with nearly half a million guests visiting at least one of the city’s Bourbon distilleries in 2022, a sharp increase of 50% when compared to visitation prior to the pandemic in 2019.