Screenshot via X/@MiamiBeachNews
Audio By Carbonatix
The City of Miami Beach is back with another Spring Break marketing video, but this time with a twist.
After two years of “Breaking Up With Spring Break” marketing campaigns that highlighted law-enforcement restrictions to dissuade partygoers from visiting, this year’s video aims to appeal to visitors looking to take advantage of the city’s fitness offerings. A city spokesperson told New Times that Miami Beach paid $425,000 to VML, the ad agency that produced the videos for the last two years.
“After two successful back-to-back spring break seasons, Miami Beach has ended the chaos and restored order,” Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner said in a press release. “Strong police visibility and firm enforcement have created the stability businesses need to invest, operate, and succeed — while ensuring residents and visitors can enjoy the month of March.”
The new campaign sings a decidedly different tune from the past two years’ messaging. While Miami Beach officials invite young people to come to the beach this spring, they want to make it clear that this won’t be the same old song and dance. The marketing video centers on the idea that a man has woken from a 10-year coma, ready to party in South Beach as if it were still 2016. The video begins with the long-haired, bearded man lying in a hospital bed.
“This March, Miami Beach will continue its beach restrictions, DUI checkpoints, and parking limitations,” a newscast announces as the camera pans toward the man and his luscious locks. “In other news, a man has woken up after ten years. The first thing he wants to do with his new lease on life: party like it’s 2016.”
The video then shows the man walking along South Beach carrying a brown paper bag containing an alcoholic beverage and wearing red high-top sneakers and a matching top that reads, “Spring Break 2016.” He appears confused when he spots people lifting weights and exercising all along the beach. He’s then suddenly caught in the middle of a large pack of runners on the sidewalk, before a pair of police officers approach him.
“Excuse me, sir, there’s no drinking in public,” a female officer tells the man. He’s then forced to hand his alcohol over to the officer.
Disappointed, he continues walking. A woman offers him a green juice, and he goes to take a sip when a volleyball hits him in the head and knocks him to the ground. When he awakes from his stupor, a group, hovering above him, invites him to play volleyball, lending a hand to help him up.
Cue the montage: the man is all smiles as he plays volleyball, jogs on the beach, eats at a sidewalk cafe, dances inside a nightclub, and, of course, does some beach yoga.
Lying on a massage chair on the beach with hot stones on his back after an adventurous week, the man proclaims, “I could lay here for another ten years.”
“Wake Up to a New March,” the video reads amid views of the gleaming ocean, followed by a tagline, “This spring, break a sweat,” with a link to the website dedicated to Spring Break regulations and fitness activities.
“This spring, break a sweat in Miami Beach, where health, wellness, and world-class beaches take center stage,” the website reads. “From elite fitness festivals to mindful moments in the sun — the city invites you to get moving, get recharged, and feel your best in a vibrant, family-friendly atmosphere.”
