A series of print ads from my work on the Pure Michigan travel campaign. Wish you were here.

1. We all have one. That perfect spot.
A special place we go to smooth out the ripples of the day.
It might be on a dock or on a boat.
Upstream or downstream.
Casting a line in the clear, fresh waters of Michigan
lets us leave anything weighing us down back on shore.
Our perfect spot is calling.
Our perfect spot is Pure Michigan.

2. We go this way to school.
That way to work. One way home.
And before we know it, we get stuck in a routine.
So let’s take a left instead of a right.
Instead of the direct route, let’s take the scenic route.
To a place where something new and exciting
is waiting for us just around the corner.
Right this way to Pure Michigan.

3. Stand up straight. Don’t chew gum in school.
Always say please and thank you. Walk. Don’t run.
There are rules we all have to live by.
Thankfully, there is a place we can go
where ‘no rules’ is always the rule of the day.
A place that yells ‘go for it’ up, down and all around.
A place where 3,288 miles of
freshwater freedom is Pure Michigan.

4. Let’s catch up. Not on the phone, online or over lunch.
Let’s catch up when we’ve got nothing but time,
and just the clear, fresh waters of Michigan in front of us.
Off a dock. On a boat. Or just offshore, we can catch more than fish.
Catch up on the kids, old friends,
the ones that got away,
And the ones waiting for us
in Pure Michigan.

5. This weekend, there will be no satellite TV.
No HD. No flat-screen LCD.
This weekend, there will only be surround sound.
The sound of brooks and streams.
The wind through the trees.
And best friends sharing stories
and laughing into the night.
On a sandlot. At a campsite. At the water’s edge.
On the 19 million-acre playground
that’s Pure Michigan.

6. Not all treasure is buried.
Sometimes it’s right in front of us.
We can find it where the sand plays tag with the shore.
Where the stones skip the farthest.
Where fun is always the first one up
and the last one to go to bed.
Where 3,288 miles of golden shoreline
says dig into the treasure that’s Pure Michigan.

7. The days are getting shorter. The nights are getting colder.
The warm memories of summer are beginning to fade.
But we still have time for one more outdoor party.
It’s time to celebrate Michigan’s autumn
with 19 million acres of fireworks in the sky.
Majestic oaks and mighty maples wrap the entire state with color,
leaving us speechless, not counting our “oohs” and “ahhs.
”
Look up. The party is still on in Pure Michigan.

8. Let’s play I Spy.
I spy something pumpkin orange.
I spy something McIntosh red.
From mid-September riding high through the end of October,
Michigan’s forests and farms truly know how to paint the town red.
And purple. Yellow. And orange.
So let’s get out there and play.
The most amazing game of I Spy ever is Pure Michigan.

9. On elevators. On hold. On car radios. On our ringtones.
Everywhere we go music is around us.
But is it the kind of music we want to be around?
The kind of music that makes us dance in our seats. And hum down the street.
This kind of music is closer than we think.
Just follow the tune around the next corner.
Our new favorite song is sure to be playing.
Our new favorite song is Pure Michigan.

10. We’ve been waiting all year for this.
For the cool weather to come.
For the leaves to fall from the Aspens.
For the flurry of wings and the rush that follows.
The gear is packed. The dog is pacing by the back door.
Eight million acres of public land and one of the best hunting states
in the country are just waiting on us.
Our favorite season is now open in Pure Michigan.