The University of Hawaii at Manoa hopes to expand a television advertising campaign designed to attract local students to the flagship research campus.

“;It's long overdue that UH-Manoa starts promoting itself,”; said Gregg Takayama, director of community and government relations at UH-Manoa. “;We're trying to show families and potential students here that they can get a top-notch college education here at home.”;

Takayama said the four ads began running in December, and the university is working on a new commercial and negotiating with television stations to continue running the spots through the rest of the year.

The commercials are also posted on YouTube.

The first four 30-second commercials were produced at a cost of about $75,000, and the television time through March cost about $25,000, Takayama said.

He said that private universities, UH-West Oahu, UH-Hilo and the UH community colleges all have continuing advertising campaigns.

“;It's a competition,”; Takayama said. “;All of the demographics show that the number of high school graduates has peaked and is going to start declining in the foreseeable future.”;

Takayama said the ads might be the first time UH-Manoa has run a television advertising campaign for the campus.

The money for the commercials came from UH-Manoa Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw's discretionary account at the UH Foundation and money set aside from student tuition for marketing, Takayama said.

The commercials show UH researchers and students underwater, in forests, on campus and at Mauna Kea. The tag line is, “;Discover, Inspire, Innovate at UH-Manoa.”;

One commercial begins underwater with marine biology researchers, goes into a forest with an arborist and ends with astronomers on top of Mauna Kea. The four commercials—titled “;Innovation,”; “;Exploration,”; “;Experience the World”; and “;One Day”;—also feature the Hawaiian studies, theater, foreign language, agriculture and engineering programs.

“;One day you will film the world, you will save lives, discover cultures, build robots and explore the heavens. But until then prepare for the journey here,”; the narrator says in another ad.

The commercials were produced by HDology Productions, a company started in 2008 by UH students while they were finishing their degrees.

Oz Go, director/writer at HDology Productions, said they did not want the ads to look like other ads for colleges.

“;We wanted them (the audience) to wonder and get excited about what they were watching,”; he said. UH-Manoa is not mentioned until the last seconds of the ads.

Go said the people in the ads are actual UH-Manoa researchers and students.

He is working on a new commercial that will feature the Hawaiian-studies program and will begin with a grandmother advising her grandson to look at what is available at UH-Manoa.

Go said even though he graduated from UH-Manoa, he was surprised to learn about the variety of programs offered.

“;I didn't know it existed,”; he said. “;I didn't know there were such cool locations.”;

For now, Takayama said, the university is looking only at television advertising locally, but if more resources are devoted to marketing, the campaign could be expanded.

“;If we had the resources to be everywhere, we would,”; he said.