Barbados, Caribbean

Project info / Insight:
As part of a pitch, I was asked by Brash to help secure the role of creative and marketing partner for Barbados. After significant drops in visitor numbers, especially in 2020 and 2021 due to global COVID-19 travel restrictions, Barbados has faced an uphill battle to recover tourism. The island also needed to attract younger visitors, as millennials and gen-z increasingly prioritise authentic experiences over classic sun-and-sea holidays.

Challenge / Idea:
It was time to speak to visitors through a new lens, one rooted in real, lived Barbados. Working closely with the creative team at Brash, I shaped the art direction and sourced photography that felt unmistakably and authentically Bajan, going beyond the familiar clichés. We focused on the local people, local culture, local food, local sports and everyday moments rarely highlighted in mainstream tourism campaigns everyone knows Barbados for its beaches, but do they know it for road tennis? Probably not. Road tennis is a grassroots cultural pillar woven into Bajan life. And it’s just one of many overlooked experiences: surfing, hiking, trekking, Crop Over, rum tasting, snorkelling, cave exploring, the list goes on. We wanted the world to see the Barbados locals know and love.

Design / Results:
We captured this shift with messages such as ‘Barbados: famous for that, unforgettable for this’, ‘Pause your world in ours’, and ‘More life, more light.’ Paired with photography of local people doing authentic Bajan things, the message became clear and memorable without overloading the visuals. Halftone and noise treatments brought a raw, unpolished aesthetic to the imagery and mood films, far removed from the typical glossy family-holiday look.
This approach allowed us to portray Barbados as it truly is, placing culture and community at the centre. Another important shift was, we also moved away from the traditional British or American voiceovers used in most Barbados ads. Instead, we worked with a local Bajan voice artist, grounding the films in genuine local character and tone.

The senior management team flew to Barbados to present the new vision, which received an overwhelmingly positive response. Brash was later selected as the winning agency from a highly competitive shortlist.