Life Is Worth Tahiti

Tahiti Tourisme — Defending the business

Project Overview
During a new-business pitch at Phelps Group in Santa Monica, our team was tasked with helping the agency retain its long-standing client, Tahiti Tourisme — a partnership already spanning sixteen years. In 2010, amid an economic downturn, convincing travelers to make a long, expensive trip to the South Pacific was a significant challenge. The opportunity was clear: re-frame Tahiti not as a destination, but as a life experience worth pursuing.

Objective
Elevate Tahiti’s brand from a luxury vacation choice to a transformational “bucket-list” journey — one that justified both the financial investment and the time commitment by promising emotional, physical, and spiritual renewal.

Creative Direction
I developed the positioning statement “Life Is Worth Tahiti”, expressing that some experiences are so profoundly restorative and sensual that they transcend cost or distance.

Working alongside creative leader Howie Cowen, our team built an integrated campaign spanning print, digital, and experiential media. Every touchpoint embodied sensory richness — from photography that invited immersion in turquoise stillness to copy that whispered about reconnection and rediscovery.

Outcome
Our campaign secured the account for Phelps Group, triumphing over heavyweight agency Wong Doody. The win extended the client relationship past the twenty-year mark and reinforced Tahiti Tourisme’s reputation for evocative, high-impact storytelling that stirs aspiration even in lean times.

Takeaways

• Great positioning rises above product features — it taps into emotion, identity, and purpose.

• Even in recessionary climates, desire for meaning doesn’t fade; it just needs reframing.

• The phrase “Life Is Worth Tahiti” became both a campaign line and a philosophy — one that still resonates with anyone dreaming of paradise.