De barbaren van Oost-Vlaanderen

How do you get locals excited to explore their own backyard? For the Province of East Flanders, we wanted to completely flip the script on traditional tourism messaging. The result: “Embrace your inner barbarian” a bold, humorous campaign that reimagined the local resident as an adventurous explorer, ready to rediscover the beauty, culture, and fun hidden in plain sight.

I was responsible for writing the campaign manifesto and overseeing the video production. From shaping the narrative to translating it visually, I helped give the campaign its voice and rhythm. The manifesto set the tone: playful, proud, and just rebellious enough to spark curiosity, reminding people that real adventure starts close to home.

Together with our creative team, I helped bring three distinct “barbarian” personas to life:

the culture barbarian (art, heritage, museums),
the nature barbarian (forests, peace, hiking), and
the adventure barbarian (recreation, fun, thrill).

In the video, we followed these characters across East Flanders from castle ruins and dense woodlands to quirky local gems. I worked closely with the video team to guide the pre-production and storyboarding, was involved in shoot coordination, and supported post-production to make sure the tone stayed sharp and cohesive throughout.

Visually, the campaign came to life across (D)OOH, social media, radio and even personality quizzes. It was everywhere and it worked. The visuals turned heads, the message hit home, and the humor helped us reach a wide audience in a fresh and unexpected way.

This campaign wasn’t just about tourism; it was about regional pride. And it was a joy to help shape that story, both in words and moving image.