• by Danielle Oster , December 16, 2024

Nearly a century ago, Sun Valley, Idaho became the location of the country’s first winter resort destination. In its latest campaign, Sun Valley Resorts draws on an American tune that traces its roots back even further.

“Ski On The Sunny Side” reimagines the song “Keep On The Sunny Side,” the first version of which was written in 1899 by Ada Blenkhorn and J. Howard Entwisle. The song was popularized by lAmerican folk group The Carter Family, initially through a 1928 recording, and it also provided the title for a popular 1964 album the group recorded featuring guest Johnny Cash.

The campaign, helmed by the property’s recently named agency of record, Fortnight Collective, was also designed to stoke “the love of skiing and snowboarding that has gone missing in today’s increasingly corporate ski industry,” Scott Warren, director of marketing and PR at Sun Valley Resort, said in a statement.

‘'‘Ski on the Sunny Side' is more than a tagline—it’s a philosophy: living life on the sunny side, finding joy in every turn, and savoring every moment spent in these majestic mountains,” he added.

At the center of the campaign is a musically driven video setting the “Ski On The Sunny Side” tune to footage of skiers and snowboarders enjoying the slopes during a sunny day at the resort. The new branded twist on the classic song was performed by Fortnight Collective creative directors Matt Kubis and Jim Heekin.

The campaign is running nationally across Meta, Pinterest, and Reddit, with a heavy focus on such cities as Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles,San Francisco and Seattle. Campaign elements include CTV, online video, content elements across 60,30, and 15-second iterations, digital OOH, and both animated and static social media activations.

“Ski On The Sunny Side” first debuted near the end of October but is entering heavier rotation now. Sun Valley Resorts told Marketing Daily the ad had driven qualified web traffic for the brand, adding 24.88% more active users year-over-year, and an 8.42% increase in engagement rate – resulting in a 55% increase in return-on-ad-sales  year-over-year for display ads, and a 7.16% increase in revenue.