From ‘No Artificial Ingredients!’ to ‘Save the Americans’: Costa Rica’s tourism campaigns

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Costa Rica’s economy relies on tourism, and the country has worked hard to increase the flow of international visitors to the country.
Monday, the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT) launched a new campaign, “Only the Essentials,” that will target major markets in the United States and Canada.

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The new branding strategy will run for two years, and the Costa Rican government expects it to help improve a struggling economy.
Of course, “Only the Essentials” isn’t Costa Rica’s first foray into international marketing campaigns. From “No Artificial Ingredients!” to the country’s latest offering, we take a look back at memorable

n case the dated CGI and WordArt-style text animations didn’t tip you off, this video is straight out of the 1990s. “No Artificial Ingredients!” highlighted different areas of Costa Rica, including Monteverde, Cocos Island and the Talamanca mountain range.

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The campaign “delivered excellent results,” according to former tourism minister Allan Flores. But within Costa Rica, some thought of the slogan as hypocritical, especially considering the country’s high pesticide use.
First launched in 1997, the “No Artificial Ingredients” slogan was used for more than a decade before it was phased out in 2013 for the “Essential Costa Rica” brand that persists today.