Backed by the Netherlands government, last week a contingent of Amsterdam's finest adfolk headed to London to encourage overseas investment in the city's booming creative industries.

It's already home to major advertising players such as 180 Amsterdam and Wieden + Kennedy, plus a host of home-grown agencies, and now the city is aiming to boost its creative credentials by encouraging companies to set up shop along its tree-lined canals.

By teaming up with local businesses, the government has launched a drive to promote the city as a centre for thriving creativity, and last week representatives from AKQA, Victor & Rolf, and The Miami Ad School in Amsterdam met with a crowd of eager British creatives at The Barbican in London.

Peggy Stein, creative head of Dutch agency Bureau Pindakaas, was one of the speakers involved in the event, and also helped set up the Amsterdam branch of The Miami Ad School back in April. "We often hear the words 'the world is changing', and advertising is too," she says. "Big brands are always asking what's next, and while some people keep worrying, theorising, and losing time, others just do. Amsterdam is one of those places where people don't think too much about the future. They just trust, and try to find new ways of reinventing and adapting themselves. They are ahead of the trends, finding new ways, thinking global - they are the future."

When the city of Amsterdam asked The Miami Ad School to help out on the initiative, they jumped at the chance. Student duo Kako Mendez and Jomi Rivera came up with a poem about the city, and with the help of agencies S-W-H and John Doe, and production company Fat Fred, they created the commercial Yes I Amsterdam. Directed by Hein Mevissen it stars ten CEOs who live and work in the city, and who take it in turn to read segments of the poem.

"Cities always use numbers and statistics to sell themselves," says Mendez, "but to us Amsterdam is an attitude, a philosophy, a mentality. So our strategy was focused on making a mission about this - it was about personality and identity."

Alongside the emotive spot, the city is also producing a glossy magazine filled with interviews and features about creative life in Amsterdam. And with companies such as 72andSunny and Wave Studios having recently set up Dutch arms, it looks like the initiative has got the right idea.

Click here to view the spot.