Skift Take
“The 77” video campaign is one way Choose Chicago is encouraging inclusive community tourism. And it’s a tasty one.
Chicago is home to many iconic local eateries. At La Catedral Cafe & Restaurant, you can choose from up to 14 kinds of chilaquiles. At Old Fashioned Donuts, you can order fresh donuts from a man with over 50 years of experience making them by hand.
Choose Chicago, the city’s tourism bureau, invites you to dig into Chicago’s historic and culture-packed neighborhoods with its new web series, “The 77: A City of Neighborhoods.”
Funded by an American Rescue Plan grant, the video campaign — posted on YouTube and Choose Chicago’s website — highlights five sets of neighborhoods across the city’s 77 community areas.
Mark Skala is the creative director and founder at Skalawag Productions, the production company behind the campaign. Skala said most episodes follow a similar trajectory: opening with a longstanding food establishment, transitioning to the neighborhood’s history and culture, and then ending with a small business “pioneer.”
Skift learned mor