Some cities celebrate their legends. In Macon, Georgia, the legends still loom over the city.
Visit Macon released "Legends Loom Large," a tourism film from creative studio Versus.
The spot places oversized versions of Otis Redding, Little Richard, and the Allman Brothers Band across modern-day Macon.
It follows a visitor through downtown as the figures appear around streets, buildings, and everyday scenes.
Their faces stay hidden, with clothing, movement, scale, and music doing the work of identification.
The film uses Otis Redding's "I've Been Loving You Too Long" with involvement from the Otis Redding Foundation and Redding family.
Justin Andrews, Redding's grandson and director of global initiatives at the Otis Redding Estate and Foundation, said:
"My family's history with Macon has undoubtedly added to the rich history of this city."
"My grandad's musical and philanthropic legacy and his moniker as the 'King of Soul' to this day plays an important and valuable part in how everyone outside of Central Georgia sees us today."
The campaign also gives Versus' proprietary AI software Newt its first named public credit in the studio's creative work.
Newt supported the studio's post-production alongside traditional VFX, compositing, and finishing.
The production gives Versus a useful public test for a tool the studio has been developing through its AI-focused work since 2024.
Versus Gives Newt Its First Named Campaign Credit
Versus handled the campaign from concept through production.
The studio shot on location in Macon, then added the larger-than-life figures through its post-production workflow.
Newt combines custom AI processes with traditional VFX, compositing, and finishing.
The result keeps the streets and people of Macon grounded in live-action while the musical figures occupy an impossible scale.
Steven Weinzierl, Versus' ECD and director, said the production gave the studio room to experiment with the city and its visual history.
"By blending live action and VFX with new AI techniques, we pushed beyond the standard tourism spot."
"[And] created something that really feels like Macon."
"Honestly, that kind of creative leap wasn't even possible a few years ago," Weinzierl told DesignRush.
Versus publicly discussed AI production since 2024, including an OpenAI Sora short and Adobe MAX sessions.
Newt's named credit gives the Macon campaign a second role as a public introduction for the studio's internal technology.
Macon's Tourism Economy Gives the Work Weight
Macon-Bibb County recorded $476.1 million in visitor spending in 2024, up 3.9% from the previous year.
Hotel-motel tax collections topped $6.6 million, up nearly 7%.
The 2026 International Cherry Blossom Festival drew an estimated 282,004 attendees, up 4.6% from 2025.
Its economic impact reached $6.9 million, 6% increase from the previous year.
The 2025/26 Christmas Light Extravaganza drew 723,000 non-resident visits, up 10.3%, with 116,440 visitors traveling at least 50 miles.
These figures put the campaign in a market where tourism already depends heavily on cultural attractions and events.
- Cultural recognition drives travel demand. Destination brands can connect assets to current visitor behavior to give travelers a reason to choose a city.
- Events create measurable local spending. Teams should connect ideas with attractions and experiences to encourage longer visits and wider local spending.
- AI can expand production possibilities. Creative studios should give IP tools defined production roles to prove where new technology adds value.
Macon's numbers give Versus a useful test case for whether distinctive creative can make a destination commercially visible.
Our Take: What Does Naming Newt Change for Versus?
Versus spent years discussing AI as part of its production practice.
Newt gives these conversations a tangible name tied to finished client work.
Naming Newt changes the conversation around Versus' AI work because it now has a product identity that clients can ask about.
If the IP stays an internal production system, the name can help Versus explain its capabilities without selling software.
If the studio plans to license or commercialize it, every future campaign becomes evidence for a growing product story.
Versus gives Visit Macon a cultural film while quietly putting its own production technology in front of potential clients.
The move connects with the wider agency debate over AI-assisted production and the creative judgment behind it.
We recently explored the same tension in an interview with production studio Tonic.
Destination marketers need production teams that can handle concepting, live action, VFX, and post-production.
Explore these top video production companies in the DesignRush directory to find teams suited to campaign work.
