Known for its endless wilderness, geothermal lagoons, and rugged beauty, Iceland also has something of a reputation for its quirky sense of humor. And the nation’s tourism board is making use of that in a new campaign that features people in “The Icelandverse” in a parody of Mark Zuckerberg’s Metaverse.
In the Icelandic Tourism video, viewers are greeted by a black-sweater-clad presenter named Zack Mossbergsson, who says, “Today, I want to talk about a revolutionary approach to connecting our world without being super weird.”
Following Zuckerberg’s often robotic public speaking skills, Mossbergsson directs viewers to look at a pristine snow-covered landscape visible in the window behind him and asks, “What do we call this not-so-new chapter in human connectivity?” ? The verse of Iceland.
“Enhanced real reality without the silly-looking headset,” he says.
The campaign video continues to imitate Zuckerberg and some of his quirky traits, like not being able to open the door, which supposedly references the Facebook billionaire waiting for people to open doors for him; and going overboard with the sunscreen as she plunges into a geothermal pool where she meets “a human.”
Showcasing many of the country’s incredible landscapes and waterfalls, the ad’s main message is how great “The Icelandverse” is, mainly because it’s a real destination with “water that’s wet” and “horses you can ride, with hair you can touch.” “. ”
Facebook changed its name to Meta in October in an effort to focus attention on the social media giant’s $50 million digital space, the Metaverse.
And while the country’s new tourism campaign is a comic version of Zuckerberg’s news, it’s also a way for Iceland to boost its tourism numbers now that Covid-19-related travel restrictions are being eased and rates of vaccinations in the world are increasing.
The country had around two million visitors in 2019 before the global pandemic hit. This year, it is on track to meet its greatly reduced target of 700,000 tourists, a number that has already risen thanks to Iceland being one of the first destinations to reopen its borders to vaccinated travelers from most countries.
Lonely Planet recently named the country’s West Fjords the number one region to visit in 2022. The travel publication’s experts praised the “coast-hugging roads…quaint towns, spectacular scenery, epic Icelandic history and abundance of wildlife” of the far north region.
