After Newfoundlanders took offence to an ad during one of the biggest annual TV event of the year, Target knew it had to move quickly to craft a response.

During this year’s Super Bowl, earlier this month, vacation rental company Vrbo ran an ad that used the traditional Newfoundland and Labrador folk song “I’se the B’y.” In Vrbo’s ad, the song played over unexpectedly disappointing rental situations, drawing a mixed reaction as some Canadians believed it painted Newfoundland and Labrador culture in a negative light.

“While the ad is unfortunate – both the use of the song and the implication that rural places and rural accommodations are sub-par – there was an opportunity to turn a negative into a positive for Newfoundland and Labrador,” Target president Catherine Kelly tells strategy.

The outcry from Newfoundlanders received national media coverage in Canada from outlets like the CBC and The Globe & Mail. It even prompted Newfoundland politicians like premiere Andrew Furey and senator David Wells to criticize the ad.

Noticing the uproar and discussion Vrbo’s ad was causing, Target, the longtime agency of record for Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism, immediately set to work.

Within minutes of the ad airing, agency leads began workshopping ideas, briefing a local editor on a video response ad the next day, and commissioning local performer Gordon Cormier to record his own version of “I’se the B’y.” By the time the dust settled, the new video was approved and posted to social media within 22 hours of the original Vrbo ad airing.

“In posting this video on social media, we tapped into the vast pride of place that exists here and empower Newfoundlanders and Labradorians with something they can like, can comment on and share,” Kelly says.

The ad represented an opportunity to highlight the province’s positive aspects for the tourism board, while capitalizing on the attention that the original ad had garnered.

Explaining the song’s significance, Kelly notes that it’s a testament to the province’s resilience, culture and heritage. “The lyrics are about a man who can build a boat, sail it, use it to catch fish, to feed his family and to make a living. It reflects a very specific period of time in our province’s history,” Kelly says.

Vrbo, an Expedia Group-owned online vacation rental marketplace, apologized for the ad after it received backlash and pulled the spot from Canadian airwaves.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism response posts were shared to its Facebook, Instagram and YouTube pages.