'Pennsylvania Crude: The Road Trip'Wins Best of Show at ADDY Awards

Pennsylvania Crude: The Road Trip, the tourism promotional marketing DVD created for Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau, Butler County Tourism & Convention Bureau, Crawford County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Oil Region Alliance of Business, Industry & Tourism, Warren County Visitors Bureau and the Allegany County (N.Y.) Office of Development, received several awards, including Best of Show, at the ADDY Awards Friday night at the Bayfront Convention Center in Erie.

In the first 25 years of the oil industry, the Northwestern Pennsylvania counties of Butler, Venango, McKean, Crawford and Warren, and New York’s Allegany County formed the producing heart of the North American oil industry. Energy is a topic on everyone’s mind and these themes were utilized in the creation of Pennsylvania Crude: The Road Trip.

Black Sheep Media, headed by Joe Ferralli, produced the DVD which harkens back to an old-fashioned road trip. It offers a set of suggested driving tour itineraries featuring historical highlights of the oil history in this region, and promoting travelers to experience “Some of the most beautiful scenery east of the Mississippi.”

Each section of the DVD, which also won a gold ADDY for Interactive Multimedia (CD/DVD) and a Judge’s Choice Award, showcases tourist attractions from each county. Locally, places such as the Flickerwood Wine Cellars & Lounge, Penn Brad Oil Museum, the Allegheny National Forest, Bradford, Kane, Smethport and Marilla Reservoir are featured on the DVD.

“Back in the day, this Pennsylvania Grade powered our cars and our economy,” the narrator says on the DVD. Now, there are heritage sites in the region as well as tourism areas for residents and visitors to enjoy.

This is true right here in McKean County “where the hand of man and the majesty of nature make your adventure in the Allegheny National Forest region something to remember.”

Accepting the award along with Ferralli were Linda Devlin, executive director of the Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau; Jack Cohen, executive director for the Butler County Tourism & Convention Bureau; Betty Squire of the Oil Region Alliance of Business, Industry & Tourism and Bill Dibble of Allegany County, N.Y.

“It was a really fun project to work on. Every time we went into a new county, we met incredible people and discovered places that were frozen in time,” Ferralli said. “It reminded me of the trips we used to take when I was a kid in my parents old Suburban - cigar store Indians, roadside stands, Mail Pouch barns - it’s a pure example of Americana.”
Educational and marketing goals for the DVD included improving the awareness of the rich history of the region; increasing visitation to museums, communities and attractions; and creating experiential driving tour loops with mapping, thereby increasing the number of overnight stays generating new net income into the region. Promoting heritage tourism, the DVD will be mailed to tour operators, travel writers and travel agents. The DVD is also available for purchase at the ANF Visitors Bureau located at 80 E. Corydon St., Bradford.

In addition, The DVD will be inserted into the upcoming hardcover book Pennsylvania Crude, an illustrated history of oil, set to be published this summer. This book, published by The Forest Press, a subsidiary of the ANF Visitors Bureau, will feature magnificent photos by award-winning photographer Ed Bernik who worked with the bureau on its previous book, Pennsylvania Wilds: Images of the Allegheny National Forest. Local stories, local people, and informative text about the history of oil in the Pennsylvania Field will be the focus of the new book. Bernik also supplied photos for the Road Trip DVD.

The ADDY Awards are sponsored by the Advertising Federation of Northwestern Pennsylvania. The ADDY Awards recognizes all forms of advertising. Since Pennsylvania Crude: The Road Trip won Best of Show; the DVD will be eligible to compete at the regional ADDY Awards against agencies from New York City, Washington, D.C. and Chicago.

The Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau is the official tourist promotion agency for McKean County.

Pictured, Linda Devlin, executive director of the Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau, holds one of the three awards Pennsylvania Crude: The Road Trip DVD received at the 40th annual ADDY Awards Friday night in Erie. She is joined by, on left, Joe Ferralli of Black Sheep Media and Jack Cohen, executive director of the Butler County Tourism & Convention Bureau. The DVD, which points out tourism spots in Butler, Venango, Crawford, Warren, McKean counties in Pennsylvania and Allegany County in New York, won a gold ADDY for Interactive Multimedia DVD, the Judge’s Choice Award and Best of Show.
Photos and information courtesy of Sandra Rhodes, ANFVB