Brand USA’s ‘American Originals’ Follows Route 66

By Brand USA

For travelers around the world, the American road trip often starts as a picture. A shield-shaped highway sign. A neon motel sign at dusk. A two-lane road running straight into the desert. On Nov. 11, 2026, the road behind those pictures turns 100.

To mark the centennial, Brand USA is releasing American Originals: The Road Trip, featuring Route 66, the fifth episode in the series, that follows two international travelers on their first drive down the Mother Road. Filmed across Oklahoma and New Mexico, the episode introduces global audiences to the people who have kept Route 66 running for a century: the diner owners, motel owners, shopkeepers, and preservationists who greet travelers along the way.

Route 66 opened in 1926 and stretches nearly 2,500 miles across eight states, from Chicago to Santa Monica. Brand USA research shows three in four international travelers already know the famous stretch of the U.S. The film serves as a reminder and gives them a reason to come see it for themselves.

Each stop tells a version of the same story. Route 66 continues to be a cornerstone of the American experience because people chose to keep its businesses open, restore its buildings, and welcome strangers. Those businesses depend on visitors, and international travelers bring real spending to the communities along the route. In FY25, Brand USA’s marketing brought 926,000 additional international visitors to the United States, supporting nearly 45,000 American jobs, $3.3 billion in visitor spending and $7.2 billion in total economic impact.

At Route 66 Centennial Plaza, Rhys Martin, president of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association, describes what the drive offers. “A road trip in the United States is a way to experience this country and its vast landscape,” he said. “You meet all kinds of interesting people, get to experience many different cultures, and you see something new out the window of your car every day.”

Heading through Oklahoma

A man and woman laughing as they fill a vintage orange muscle car with gas at a retro service station.

A man and a woman pose in front of a large cowgirl statue at a Route 66 souvenir shop in Tulsa.

The journey starts in Tulsa, hometown of Cyrus Avery, known as the father of Route 66. Across town, the space cowboy towering over Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curios on 66 has become one of the most photographed stops on the route, and manager Julia Figueroa shows why so many drivers pull over.

Farther west, El Reno offers two reasons to leave the interstate. The Filling Station, a restored Route 66 service station, now welcomes travelers as the city’s visitor center. A short drive away at Sid’s Diner, owner Adam Hall grills the fried onion burger that made El Reno a destination for Route 66 food lovers. He carries on the legacy of his family by sharing his food with people from around the world, including China and Iceland.

“Oklahoma has more drivable miles of Route 66 than any other state, and the Mother Road represents an incredible opportunity to introduce our communities to travelers from around the world,” said Amy Blackburn, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department. “Our partnership with Brand USA is essential to expanding Oklahoma’s reach in international markets and turning global interest into actual visitation. Through initiatives like American Originals, we’re able to showcase the authentic people, places and experiences that make Oklahoma special while driving meaningful economic opportunities for communities and businesses across our state.”

The open road in New Mexico

A man and a woman walk past the entrance sign of the Tinkertown Museum, which features large wagon wheels and folk art elements.

A woman in a blue dress laughs while standing in front of an adobe-style church.

Every generation finds new ways to reimagine the road trip while keeping the spirit that made it iconic. In Albuquerque, where Route 66 becomes Central Avenue, Hotel Zazz shows what that looks like. Owner Sharmin Dharas has transformed the 1950s roadside motel for a new era of travelers, on the same property where she grew up, and she considers it an honor to be part of their road trip memories.

Cody Johnson, New Mexico True Communications Director added, “New Mexico has observed positive gains in international travel over the past handful of years, and the Route 66 experience through the state is a significant contributor to that growth. The centennial has served as a great opportunity to introduce the Land of Enchantment to folks across the globe and we’re grateful for all of our partners we’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with over the past few years to capitalize on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

From the screen to planning the trip

Route 66 joins four American Originals films already in the market, set in Monument Valley, Central Texas, Memphis, and New York City. The series has been incredibly well received, exceeding all benchmarks. Together the episodes have drawn over 203 million views, and viewers watch an average of more than three minutes, roughly half of each film. In the first paid media flight in Brazil, Mexico and the U.K., the campaign sent more than 113,000 people to the American Originals trip planning page on VisitTheUSA.com.

Every film links to itineraries and articles that feed an AI trip planner, so a viewer in Tokyo or São Paulo can go from watching a fried onion burger hit the grill in El Reno to mapping a drive from Tulsa to Albuquerque.

The episode is part of The Beautiful Detour, Brand USA’s road trip content program, built on the idea that the best part of an American road trip is often the stop you didn’t plan. For the centennial, the companion series The Beautiful Detour: Route 66 follows the road from Chicago to Santa Monica in four episodes: Scenic Wonders, Great Bites, Roadside Attractions and Best Stays. After the centennial, The Beautiful Detour expands beyond Route 66 to road trips across the country.

The series sits within America the Beautiful, Brand USA’s global platform, which reached 84% favorability in its first year. Travelers who saw the campaign are twice as likely to plan a U.S. visit as those who did not (60% vs. 31%).

Carrying the centennial around the world

The full episode is dubbed for international audiences and premieres on the Visit The USA YouTube channel and at VisitTheUSA.com/route-66, with trip ideas in eight languages. Paid media begins in Japan this fall and continues in the U.K. and Ireland, Australia, Brazil, India, Argentina, South Korea and Mexico through mid-2027, keeping Oklahoma and New Mexico in front of travelers long after the birthday candles are out.

About Brand USA
Brand USA is the nation’s destination marketing organization, dedicated to attracting legitimate international inbound travel to strengthen the U.S. economy, increase exports, create quality jobs, and promote community prosperity. By running data-driven campaigns and unifying messaging across industry and government, Brand USA positions the United States as a top global destination while providing current visa and entry information.

Over the past 13 years Brand USA has driven 11.3 million additional international visitors who spent $38.1 billion in the United States, leading to $82.9 billion in total economic impact and sustaining an average of more than 40,000 jobs each year. These efforts have generated nearly $11 billion in attributable tax receipts at the federal, state, and local levels.