Mountain of Youth Campaign Takes a Local Perspective

“Jackson Hole is an incredible community and the mountains inspire us,” says Julie Calder, Board Member of the Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board. “ The Tetons keep us young and wild. This campaign begins to unveil this power and we look forward to displaying  it on a worldwide stage.”

The Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board, tasked with marketing and managing the destination, has historically positioned Jackson Hole with award-winning campaigns like “Stay Wild” and “Tag Responsibly”. Now, the Mountain of Youth Campaign peels back an extra layer to inspire visitors by revealing the soul of the community inside the beautiful exterior. Telling the message of Jackson from a local’s point of view provides a glimpse into the wild lives of local Jackson residents not yet seen in an international marketing campaign.

The new campaign builds on the success of previous efforts with high quality production assets, while enhancing the message with raw and real footage of Jacksonites demonstrating responsible recreation. The first iteration of the campaign features the perspectives of six local legends: Jane Golliher, Zahan Billimoria, Kira Brazinski, Leslie Steen, Bryan Iguchi, and Bill Briggs. The campaign will evolve in the coming months and years with messages from other local community members shared across local, regional, national and international platforms. These stories – tales of creators, adventurers, explorers, conservationists, and leaders – celebrate the ineffable, untouchable, but ever-present “something” that Jackson locals have long felt but haven’t openly portrayed.

The launch of Mountain of Youth is a leading model in responsible destination marketing. The campaign was designed by the Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board’s Agency of Record, Colle McVoy, and brought to life by local photographers, videographers, creators and story-tellers. The photos and videos are carefully captured to showcase real, authentic beauty while the story-telling is crafted to be powerful and genuine to evoke thoughtfulness in visitors.  Through captivating imagery, the campaign inspires visitation to Jackson, and through the lens of Jackson Hole locals, the campaign evokes a deeper connection and a sense of stewardship for the destination.

“Both implicitly and explicitly throughout the campaign, visitors are asked to be protectors and stewards of these lands,” says Crista Valentino, Executive Director of the Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board. “The Mountain of Youth requires reciprocity – receiving from the land and community, and giving back in return.”

The Mountain of Youth is now live. Photo and video assets, alongside local stories, can be found at visitjacksonhole.com/mountain-of-youth.

Nationally and internationally, the campaign has already been seen in Travel & Leisure, National Geographic, digital display ads, and social media. Over 30,000 viewers interacted with the campaign online in the first month alone, and social media posts captured over 20 million impressions. In the coming months, Mountain of Youth will take over billboards and window displays in city markets like New York and San Francisco, print ads will be displayed in additional publications like Outside Magazine, and the campaign is expected to see exponential success across social and digital platforms.

Through strategic allocation of Teton County’s lodging tax funds, the Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board stewards Jackson Hole toward a sustainable destination, where our leadership, marketing, management, and community engagement ensure the vitality of our natural and human ecosystems.