How do you get people to come to your destination these days? Celebrity appeal. Or, better: appealing to celebrities. And even though we are north of Hollywood here in B.C., we aren't immune to its powers, or the fact that we are the birthplace of many.
The Nanaimo Bar. It’s not a cookie! Photo via Shutterstock
So when the Nanaimo Bar - yes, that layered coconut-chocolate dessert - grabbed the North American spotlight earlier this summer courtesy a name drop in the New York Times (and a mis-attribution as a cookie, ugh), the time seemed ripe for Nanaimo itself to cash in.
Tourism Nanaimo just release a new promo video starring locals and their local claim to fame, the eponymous bar. Eat it in a race-ready bathtub, dunk it in your craft beer, enjoy one on a hike, but never forget there is no Nanaimo Bar without Nanaimo.
But the video specifically wants two people to come to Nanaimo (and if you come, too, and spend some of your tourism dollars there, well, thank you so much). They name drop Seth Rogen and Dan Levy.
"The Nanaimo Bar (it's not a cookie) has had a lot of attention lately! Whether you love it or not, you can't deny it's a must-try for visitors to the region. We'd love to invite Nanaimo Bar ambassadors Seth Rogen & Dan Levy to come try the real thing," says Tourism Nanaimo.
Rogen and Levy are singled out because of their public acknowledgement of the awesomeness of...you guessed it...the Nanaimo Bar. Here's the Twitter evidence:
It’s actually from Nanaimo which is a town on Vancouver Island, which is where the ferry arrives when you leave Vancouver. This is a strange headline. But these things are fucking delicious. https://t.co/pP0YG2ifc6
— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) July 5, 2019
So glad the Nanaimo Bar hired a better publicist. She deserves this moment. https://t.co/nlJgm2pqkq
— dan levy (@danjlevy) July 5, 2019
Rogen, as we know, is the Vancouver-born actor who is so Vancouver-y there's an octopus named for him at the Aquarium and he was briefly the voice of TransLink - among other deep ties to his hometown.
Levy, on the other hand, is the Toronto-born Schitt's Creek star (and son of comedy legend Eugene) who is more of a Nanaimo Bar cheerleader.
In either case, much like YVR Airport's new campaign to get Vancouverite Ryan Reynolds' attention, fingers crossed the target famous faces heed the call. In the meantime, if you can't get your hands on a real Nanaimo Bar, you can at the very least get your hands on a much less delicious Nanaimo Bar postage stamp.
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