A 390-mile blind date road trip to promote Illinois tourism has paid off for millennials Sam Butts and Brittany Carel, who are still seeing each other after their state-sponsored whirlwind weekend to promote various locations in the state.
Butts, 27, from Nashville, and Carel, 23, from Fort Lauderdale, visited numerous tourist locations as part of videos created by the J. Walter Thompson marketing firm for Illinois Tourism, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Butts and Carel were chosen from a group of 12 to meet on the blind date road trip for their approachability, personality, and how compatible they are as a pair, the tourism office told the Tribune.
After meeting in Chicago, the couple passed the first critical hurdle – they liked each other and agreed they had chemistry.
From there, they were off to become part of to become part of Illinois Tourism's new summer digital advertising campaign running through mid-July. Under the watchful eye of the camera, they traveled to Wilmington, Braidwood, Utica, Auburn, Alton/Grafton, Springfield and Starved Rock country.
According to the Illinois tourism office, Butts and Carel appeared to hit it off as well and have seen each other again – but not in Illinois.
"We talk every day," Carel told Illinois Tourism, and said they recently met again in Butts' hometown of Nashville. "We've been wanting to see each other again ever since the trip ended.
"It felt like I've known him for years. We had a lot in common between hobbies, family life, and lifestyle habits – he made an amazing road trip partner," she continued.
Butts confirmed to the Tribune that relationship is continue without the help of Illinois Tourism.
"We did so many things in such a short amount of time, it definitely felt longer than it actually was," Butts said. "We've been able to maintain that … getting to know each other since then, so I think we’re doing pretty good."
Sarah Brick, of J. Walter Thompson, said the sites were picked to "raise awareness of all the cool, amazing things there are to do outside of Chicago. We wanted to pick those special destinations that could be quintessentially part of a road trip — like off the beaten path, those gems that people just don't know about that would pique interest."
The Illinois Office of Tourism told the Tribune it was creating a second version of the blind date road trip with a new couple around the same theme.
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