Le Diplomate has become emblematic of the complete transformation of 14th Street NW in recent years. What was once a crime-ridden corridor now has an upscale French restaurant with a fancy patio that requires a reservation long in advance to get in. Sounds pretty cool, right?

Let’s hope so. Destination DC—the nonprofit that does D.C.’s marketing for tourism and major conventions—ran an ad in the latest issue of the New Yorker starring Le Diplomate as part of its DC Cool campaign—a campaign trying to convince tourists that D.C. has more to offer than just government attractions.

The ad features four stylishly dressed women laughing at the restaurant. The slogan “DC Cool” is scribbled on the top and “9:49. Le Diplomate, 14th Street” is written on the bottom.

“[Le Diplomate] is endemic of a high energy experience in Washington that is easy to love, and one that we are comfortable using both as a platform but also as a suggestion for other delightful things you will find in D.C.,” says Kate Gibbs, a spokeswoman for Destination DC, who wouldn’t say how much the ad campaign cost.

And Le Diplomate is not the only cool attraction D.C. has to offer. Destination D.C. will also be running ads featuring Dupont Circle-area club Eighteenth Street Lounge. This ad will run in New York magazine, the New Yorker, the New York Times T Magazine, Boston Magazine, Vanity Fair, and Conde Nast Traveler. 

Gibbs says the campaign is trying to hit “a mix of Mid-Atlantic feeder markets and national publications favored by influential travelers.” It wants to attract “decision makers” to the District.

New York Times correspondent Josh Barro, though, had a different suggestion for them after he spotted the ad in the New Yorker:

Photos courtesy of Destination DC