Check out our first national TV spot

The Outback Bowl won’t be the only Tampa Bay event making the national airwaves on New Year’s Day.

Visit Tampa Bay will unveil its first national television commercial that same day. The 30-second commercial will premier during the Outback Bowl on ESPN.

“We’re excited to be taking our efforts on behalf of Tampa Bay tourism to a new level,” said Santiago Corrada, president & CEO of Visit Tampa Bay. “Joining forces with a national event like the Outback Bowl will help us show potential visitors from Seattle to New York to Dallas all the great experiences waiting to be discovered here in Tampa Bay.”

The commercial, produced by Tampa-based advertising firm PP+K, features a middle school-aged boy preparing to return home after a family trip to Tampa Bay. His mother appears at the hotel bathroom door.

“So, Tampa …” she says, “Was I right?” Cue the flood of memories from their trip: Falcon’s Fury at Busch Gardens Tampa, The Florida Aquarium, Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo, paddleboarding on the Hillsborough River, taking in a movie at the historic Tampa Theatre and bike riding on the Tampa Riverwalk.

“Yeah,” the grinning son says, breathing a little heavy from the excitement.

The spot ends with Visit Tampa Bay’s “Unlock Tampa Bay” lock-and-key logo in white on a black background, fluttering like a Jolly Roger pirate flag. A voiceover adds: “Don’t just visit. Take Over” -- the slogan for Visit Tampa Bay’s 2015 winter advertising campaign.

After it runs during the Outback Bowl, the commercial will be cut down to 15 seconds and integrated into the tourism agency’s $750,000 winter ad buy.

“We’re really proud of the body of work we’ve produced in partnership with Visit Tampa Bay over the course of the last year,” said Garrett Garcia, PP+K’s executive director. “We believe this is one of our most strategic and fully integrated campaigns to date.”

The ad campaign, also organized by PP+K, focuses on seven cities from January through April: Boston, Toronto, Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis, Atlanta and Dallas. It will focus on digital advertising – so-called “pre-roll” ads that run before online videos – as well as banner and Facebook ads in all markets. There will also be radio in Indianapolis, along with billboards in Atlanta, Chicago and Dallas.