Raunchy ad does wonders for tourism in little-known city

Basilian monastery gate in the Old Town in Vilnius in Lithuania

By Alexandra Coulton

Lithuania’s infamous ‘G-spot of Europe’ campaign is once again attracting attention, winning the best destination campaign for a city at the International Travel and Tourism Awards in London.

The ad for the country’s capital, Vilnius, made headlines in August last year for its raunchy concept, featuring a young woman laying on a bedsheet with a map of Europe on it, grasping at the spot on the map where Vilnius is located.

“Nobody knows where it is, but when you find it – it’s amazing,” the tagline read.

It also included a string of short videos for social media where it looks as though people are about to orgasm, however, they’re in fact staring in awe at Vilnius’s many attractions. Check them out here.

The campaign was aimed at 18 to 35-year-old British and German holidaymakers, but attracted a lot of attention from the country’s devoutly Catholic population.

Vilnius Archbishop Gintaras Grusas, an outspoken critic of the campaign, said it “potentially strengthens the image of Vilnius as a sex tourism city and exploits the sexuality of women”, according to News.com.au.

But the ad certainly had the desired effect, with Vilnius seeing a 12.5 per cent increase in overall tourism numbers, according to CNN.

Visitors from the targeted markets, Germany and the UK, increased by 37.8 per cent and 20.5 per cent respectively.

Inga Romanovskienè, the director of the city’s tourism board, Go Vilnius, told CNN that while it’s not a well-known city, when visitors discover Vilnius they enjoy their experience.

“It was specifically directed at a millennial audience, and while the language is suggestive, it was important for us to ensure the imagery used is not explicit,” she said.

“The messaging was not aimed to be taken directly.”

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ad campaign g-spot of Europe lithuania