No-Drama Vacation. Robert De Niro and Roger Federer in a Switzerland Tourism Ad11.05.2021

In the brief ad, already watched sixteen million times, the acclaimed tennis star encourages the two-time Academy Award winner to visit his homeland.

The gradual reopening of borders across Europe seems to indicate that the return of international travel as we knew it is just around the corner. Countries where tourism drives much of the GDP see the perspective as an opportunity to reverse the economic downturn they have been suffering and save thousands of jobs in the process. And so popular destinations across the globe have been hard at work designing tourism campaigns to drum up anticipation among prospective travelers. The ad put together by Switzerland Tourism shines particularly bright among the latest offerings.

The ad, seen over sixteen million times to date, stars one of the best tennis players of all time, the winner of twenty Grand Slam tournaments and Olympic champion from Beijing, Roger Federer. The athlete is widely considered an ambassador of his homeland—his fellow Swiss deem him one of the most prominent figures to ever emerge from the country, alongside Albert Einstein and William Tell. In 2019, he became the only living Swiss national in history to be put on a twenty-franc coin released into wide circulation. Federer is also known for often speaking very highly of his homeland.

The famous tennis player appears in the ad alongside Robert De Niro, the legendary actors whose recent acting credits include The War with Grandpa and The Comeback Trail. In the ninety-second ad, De Niro appears as himself. After Federer reaches out with an offer for De Niro to appear in a commercial promoting Switzerland, the latter watches the mood film Federer attached to the message and decides to refuse. “Look at where you are, Roger,” he says, “you got your mountains, your skiing resorts, your charming little towns, green valleys. There’s no drama, no drama at all! (…) I’m a certain type of actor, I need an edge, conflict, jeopardy. Switzerland is just too perfect,” De Niro concludes, in an unexpected twist.

More information about the campaign has been made available at the official MySwitzerland website. The site also includes tips and trivia, including Roger Federer’s favorite destinations: the Alps, Basil, and the Bellinzona Castles.