If you were planning to fly somewhere recently, chances are your flight was cancelled. And if so you might have cursed the country that prevented you from keeping your schedule. The Icelandic government has teamed up with the tourist industry to take advantage of the publicity surrounding the volcanic ash. The result is a 5 million dollar ad-campaign called “Inspired by Iceland” which has the goal of getting travellers to visit the country this summer. It features celebrities like Eric Clapton, Stephen Fry and others who tell stories about how they experienced the country and why they found it inspiring.

Although most locals agree that in the long run the eruption will be good for the tourist industry, there is concern about the short term effect. The fear is that people might be afraid that their visit to the country could be disrupted by the ash.

On the campaign’s site right now there’s a video with Viggo Mortensen singing the country’s praises. The site will  launch officially in a few days and then other celebrity videos will be added. Whether the campaign has enough creative sparkle to get the message across is still up for debate. While the volcano is in full swing people might simply not want to risk being stuck for days on an island against their will (kind of like the plot in Lost). What is your opinion? Is this money well spent?