U.S. lures U.K. tourists with ads.

An L.A. ad agency hired by the Commerce Department has launched an advertising campaign in the U.K. promoting travel to the United States.

The three-month, $6 million TV blitz is the first-ever ad effort funded by the Commerce Department. It was created by the L.A. office of London-based M&C Saatchi and relies heavily on the allure of Hollywood.

The series of prime-time ads airing on British TV feature scenes from "Thelma & Louise," "Maid in Manhattan," "Chicago," "L.A. Story" and "Spider-Man," using the tag line: "You've seen the films. Now visit the set."

The campaign marks a rarity for the federal government in its direct promotion of travel to the U.S. In the past, the Commerce Department has funded modest industry outreach efforts, but those efforts have been dormant for some time. Still, the new initiative has been scaled back from the one originally planned.

President Bush approved $50 million in 2003 for an ad campaign to the top foreign tourist markets--England, Japan, Germany, Canada and Mexico. The goal was to bring tourists back to the U.S. after the travel downturn following the terrorist attacks.

But in the face of mounting costs for Homeland Security and the Iraq war, Congress found itself "redirecting priorities," said Doug Baker, assistant secretary for tourism of the Department of Commerce. When the funds were authorized, the amount had shrunk to $4 million.

That amount was augmented by travel industry groups who added another $2 million. (The U.S. travel industry has been pushing for a public-private partnership to boost travel to the U.S. since the mid-1990s, when a federal agency promoting tourism was shut down.)

M&C Saatchi originally bid on the project when it was worth $50 million, and won the reduced contract in March. With the new budget, the campaign focused only on England.

According to Commerce Department figures, the ad campaign, which runs through the end of February, will rank in the top four media buys in the British market for the period.

Some industry professionals are skeptical of the watered-down campaign.

"It's too little, too late," said Klaus Ritter, manager of the L.A. office of Allied T-Pro, a travel agency that works with European travel wholesalers. "In order to have a real impact, it should be a lot more than that."

Britain sent about 3.9 million tourists to the U.S. in 2003. Los Angeles was the third-most popular U.S. city for British visitors.