Lithuania’s capital city Vilnius has produced a humorous tourism marketing campaign – titled ‘Expectations vs Reality’ – poking fun at Eastern European stereotypes in a bid to lure international visitors by gently surprising them about the true beauty of the place.
The “Expectations vs. Reality” campaign video is available here.
Dovilė Aleksandravičienė, CEO of Go Vilnius, the official tourism and business development agency of Vilnius which is behind the “Expectations vs. Reality” campaign, says the commercial is atypical as no tourism agency would ever advertise a destination in a satire if it was close to the truth.
However, if the curiosity of potential visitors is piqued after watching the commercial and they search for Vilnius on the internet, the goal has been reached.
“When asked about Vilnius, many international residents either don’t know it or know very little about it. It’s normal that our perception of places might be affected by what is featured in media and pop culture. Let’s be fair, Eastern Europe has many stereotypes brought on by the difficulties of the 20th-century geopolitical events,” Ms Aleksandravičienė said.
“What many don’t know is that in the last 30 years, many cities in Eastern Europe have become unrecognisable thanks to rapid changes. We are not patronising or critiquing those who still base their knowledge of Vilnius and Lithuania on the prevailing stereotypes but rather, in a true ‘Unexpectedly Amazing’ Vilnius style, laugh at them together and ignite people’s desire to see what reality looks like over here,” she added.
The new tourism campaign strives to change Western Europe’s mind about Vilnius, whose old town is a UNESCO heritage site. At first, the commercial depicts the cliche stereotypes of Eastern Europe which still prevail in social and traditional media, as well as communities living outside the region — Soviet-era buildings, drunks defacing the streets, thieves, and shady market sellers — while the narrator, satirically, describes the city as an Eastern European pearl and a photographer’s paradise.
The second part of the commercial breaks these stereotypes — the architecture and streets are colourful rather than monochrome grey, the gastronomical delights rival Europe’s best cuisines, and numerous indoor and outdoor activities gather crowds of thousands. Playful visuals are also used in outdoor advertising in target locations. The imagery in posters offers sharp contrasts between expectations and reality, and urges the passers-by to be open to changing their minds about Vilnius.
Just like Lithuania, Vilnius presents a shocking reality to visitors with its vibrant cultural, gastronomical, and artistic life, thriving startup ecosystem, international business endeavours, and high-quality education. As the European Green Capital for 2025 and the 4th greenest city in the EU as per European Environment Agency’s 2022 data, the city lives up to its title.
