Let's Warsaw together?
Costing zł.473,500 ($132,000), the spot was created by advertising agency Henyo Behrendt and, under the rather Partridgesque slogan 'Let's Warsaw Together,' attempts to portray the capital as a city of contrasts architecturally, historically and socially. Furthermore, the commercial seeks to present the post-EU accession capital as a European city "back after a long break," while at the same time challenging Berlin's claim to be 'the place where East meets West.'
The ad, which has received a mixed response, is currently being shown three times a day for a five-week spell on UK-based BBC World to a potential audience of a quarter of a billion households in 43 countries, according to Jonathon Howlett, BBC World's director of airtime sales. And there are also plans afoot among the WDA for a similar spot on U.S.-based CNN.
Asked whether the WDA's move stems from its frustration with the local authority's failure to promote Warsaw as a place worth visiting, Ewa Don-Siemon, chairman of the WDA PR Committee, strives to be diplomatic.
"Certainly little attention has been paid in recent years to promoting Warsaw to the outside world," she says. "In the USA, for example, Poland is still associated with gray communism and babushkas."
Joanna Bihorska, the WDA's executive manager, says that while the hotel association is "always open to cooperation," little headway has been made with the local government regarding the city's promotion.
And while the WDA and the council have signed an agreement to work together, Bihorska claims "this collaboration actually exists only on paper." Indeed, the WDA was not even invited to attend the city council's recent 'Development Strategies for Warsaw' conference.
Jerzy Walecki, vice president at the Office of Warsaw Strategy and Development and European Integration at the city council, however, denies that the WDA's ad reflects negatively on the local authority.
"It's not in the least embarrassing for us that the WDA has produced this advert," he says, adding that both he and his colleagues work very hard to further the image and development of the city.
Bjork Hupfeld, a WDA board member, says that the political situation in Poland means it's not surprising that the city's authorities aren't more proactive regarding tourism.
"People want roads, schools and hospitals," he says, "and tourists aren't going to bring them immediately." Thus it isn't easy for local politicos to justify spending on tourism, even though it could bring more money into the city.
But then, as he observes, "Politicians here have a hard time selling a long-term view on anything."
The ad, which has received a mixed response, is currently being shown three times a day for a five-week spell on UK-based BBC World to a potential audience of a quarter of a billion households in 43 countries, according to Jonathon Howlett, BBC World's director of airtime sales. And there are also plans afoot among the WDA for a similar spot on U.S.-based CNN.
Asked whether the WDA's move stems from its frustration with the local authority's failure to promote Warsaw as a place worth visiting, Ewa Don-Siemon, chairman of the WDA PR Committee, strives to be diplomatic.
"Certainly little attention has been paid in recent years to promoting Warsaw to the outside world," she says. "In the USA, for example, Poland is still associated with gray communism and babushkas."
Joanna Bihorska, the WDA's executive manager, says that while the hotel association is "always open to cooperation," little headway has been made with the local government regarding the city's promotion.
And while the WDA and the council have signed an agreement to work together, Bihorska claims "this collaboration actually exists only on paper." Indeed, the WDA was not even invited to attend the city council's recent 'Development Strategies for Warsaw' conference.
Jerzy Walecki, vice president at the Office of Warsaw Strategy and Development and European Integration at the city council, however, denies that the WDA's ad reflects negatively on the local authority.
"It's not in the least embarrassing for us that the WDA has produced this advert," he says, adding that both he and his colleagues work very hard to further the image and development of the city.
Bjork Hupfeld, a WDA board member, says that the political situation in Poland means it's not surprising that the city's authorities aren't more proactive regarding tourism.
"People want roads, schools and hospitals," he says, "and tourists aren't going to bring them immediately." Thus it isn't easy for local politicos to justify spending on tourism, even though it could bring more money into the city.
But then, as he observes, "Politicians here have a hard time selling a long-term view on anything."
