New Zealand - Come for the website... stay for the volcanoes.

I haven’t been to New Zealand but I will after visiting their site. (Maybe not this week though... busy!) Nice to see a tourism site in some time that does something different with its layout.

(Via.)

Philly loves everyone.

Except New Yorkers. I guess in the remake Rocky runs up the stairs with Apollo? HE CAN’T, BECAUSE APOLLO’S DEAD. So much for that scenario. But there are others in the 15th anniversary of ads for the Philadelphia tourism office. Wait, here’s another: PHILLY’S MORE FUN WHEN THEY DON’T BOOT MY FUCKING CAR. A little long for an outdoor but it has attitude, no?

Escape the usual traffic and come to Hilton Head.

Welcome all you Heritage fans as you escape the usual traffic to add to ours here in SUNNY, BALLS-HOT Hilton Head! (They also left off the part on my brochure about gators and rattlesnakes before I moved down here.) As for turtle boy, there’s something about the voice that’s interesting. Yes, I’ve already had to break for a turtle in the road and no, I haven’t been to the pristine beach side of the island yet, but I’m working on it.

Visit Bucks County and make up words.

Maybe buy some cheap tees or something. Not really feeling like having an unforgetaway, though. A what?

What you see in Vegas kitchens, stays in...

Life has released a set of Rat Pack images NEVER BEFORE SEEN. Cool stuff though, showing them in more relaxed settings as well pampered ones—with a cigarette never too far away. To enhance the experience, check out the online series from the Las Vegas Sun on the full History of Vegas. You’ll eventually ignore the droning voiceover and credit sequence at the end of each clip, but you see a fuller picture beyond what you see on TV shows. Long before people knew it as a post-WWII vaca destination, it began life as a desert outpost slash railroad waypoint slash shortcut to the east. There’s the Rat Pack stuff of course (including a bit on segregation with Sammy), as well as a look at the casino lives the Scorsese film was based on. Vegas, baby.

(Life pics via Nerdcore.)

Romania: Come for the swamps, stay for the pointy rooftop things.

Perhaps you prefer a land of choice? Romania! (Logo scandal be damned.) It’s the change the perception thing with some of the country’s more famous names, and it’ll have n uphill battle here in the U.S. After all, Hollywood’s been the ultimate anti-tourism leader for years portraying places like Romania in a negative light. (You never see a horror film set in Disney World.) Us dumb Americans think this is the country that brought you vampires and Hostel, not beaches with frolicky models on overcast days. Shit, wait, that was one of the set-ups to lure the backpackers in the second one, no? On second thought, go see a monument or national park here—we have lots. Just stay away from the edge and you’ll be fine.

(Agency: Euro RSCG.)

This the weekend we planned to stay alive.

I’M KIDDING. They say it’s safer you know. I’m sure it’s safe to travel there sorta, maybe. The border *festivities* of late? Really, nothing to worry about, says the Mexican Tourism Board. Been there and it’s definitely the place I thought I knew.

(Agency: JWT.)

Vegas, your one-stop vaca destination for strippers, families and tax breaks.

Which Vegas is it now again? I’m confused. I get the new summer camp for adults thing, cute and all, but they tried hard these past few years to pitch it as a family destination. (Sure looked like it when we rolled through.) A building boom bust saw them losing their way and abandoning the well-known “What happens in Vegas” campaign, then altering it a little with “Only in Vegas,” then back again. Then an appeal to out of state companies to relocate. And now its exploring its Hedonism side again. Vegas, we get it: Elvis and Frank are gone, but just what are you trying to be now anyway? Might as well just say you’ve got everything. I WON’T BE MAD AT YA. I mean, hot couples are nice—not that we saw many what with all the kids—but if you’re going to get the freak back on, give this guy a call.

“When a warm breeze blows in from the Gulf, you’ll definitely notice.”

Yeah, I bet. It’ll be the fires from the burning oil. Not to beat the shit out of local tourism efforts in Florida, I’m not. They have a huge challenge to keep the crowds coming this summer. This was going to be more about contextual sadness than anything because I saw this ad while getting the car’s oil changed today. (Ironic ftw.) It follows the theme of their site, and The Dali was interesting too, even though that water looks way too clean for BP’s liking. Anyway, taglines and such are written long before safety procedures and concerns take a backseat to profits, so this unfortunate yet timely ad catches the St. Pete Clearwater crew off-guard with some cringe-worthy wordplay.

Come to Florida—not all our beaches are toxic and will kill all life as we know it.

Too long a title? One of the things that happens after a disaster is the inevitable exploitation. Did I say exploit, I meant, a need to promote so that the tourist season is not completely lost. Like these spots in Florida for the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau. Filmed live each day, these nine down and dirty spots feature “Dan” trying to capture some of the lost tourism money with a little rapid-fire schtick. (The spots cost $750K to produce and run, and were shot, edited, approved and uploaded each day by noon.) They’re cute and all, but “Still pristine” seems like a risky promise, given hurricane season is now ramping up and might make that point moot soon enough. Much as I am Mr. Humor too, there’s a time and place for it as this whole mess is still unfolding. These might go over in other parts of the country farther away from the spill, but at least acknowledging the situation as Alabama is doing feels more right.

(Agency: bvk.com.)

Let the border ad wars begin!

Looks like Arizona, I mean, Sheriff God Damn Joe, didn’t take kindly to the implications of this Mexican tourism ad. (I report, they deride.) The second version of the ad did have a rejoinder: “who want to have a great time.” Are apologies in order, or this just a little advertising immigration wordplay? Do we really need a real boycott of travel to Mexico from a real sheriff? I wonder though if blood and guts Joe would be offended at the unintended Amercian Apparel contextual madness accompanying his twitpic though. (Or would he approve because they’re made in using real American labor!)

Philly tourism hearts Mommy Bloggers.

“Also new for winter, the ads include less copy. GPTMC’s focus group findings revealed that people like the shorter, more direct advertisements; so each of the 25 new love letters are just a few lines long.”

So goes the thinking in an update to Philly’s tourism efforts. A few lines long. Hmm... yes, Twitter is good for that too, but it’s also full of one too many lines that say little. Which is fine, after all, Twitter tries to mirror everyday, real conversation which is full of... small talk. It’s the Twitter lines that are truly witty, touching or funny that you remember. This campaign though now feels like it’ll appeal nicely to the Good Housekeeping Mommy Blogger™crowd. Safe as you’d expect and lacking the funk of their earlier work I covered. Only thing missing is a heart over the “i” in Philadelphia.

The headlines you write here, stay here.

It only ran for two years before new slogans replaced it, but Vegas is going back to their classic What happens here, stays here tagline created by Vegas shop R&R Partners. (Juuuuust curious why someone at Vegas tourism felt the need to walk away from it in the first place. Tourism doesn’t drop off because of a slogan.) Be that as it may, everyone can now go back and have that Vegas straycation in peace.

Selling Hawaii: “Come back, we have Dog?”

Granted, the tourism business is down across the board, but you’re the Apple of vacation destinations, you don’t need a slogan, a rebrand or new look. Your product is perfect. All your advertising has to do is not get in the way. Your slogan could be “The locals won’t murder you in your sleep and we have those big outrigger things” or “Come for the tweekers—stay for the scenic vistas.” (Wait, that might be Vancouver’s.) Either way, you’d still be okay. Besides, Dog’s there to catch any skips. Wait, what, tourism dropped 8% over the same time last year? Yikes. Okay, maybe panic IS in order then. Look, just ride it out and don’t feel like you need a change in the message like Las Vegas apparently did. Own that thing. Disney has a polynesian resort? Hawaii INVENTED the hut. That’s why we invaded and made you a state.

Staycation my ass. Hawaii, bitches!

“Tacky, tasteless, moronic.”

New Wendy’s ads? Well, yeah, but, no, in this case, those are words describing a series of spots in Cumberland County, Fayetteville, N.C. welcoming U.S. troops to America’s first sanctuary community for soldiers. Or check out the spot that really freaked out the 90 year-old demo down there. (Yes, it’s always good to have a wingman while dating, or, picnicing.) The spots are by The Republik in Durham and have the blessing of the mayor: “I think it probably does appeal to those young people.” Well said sir. The spots also break out of the usual tourism clutter I go off on and do the most important thing: Get noticed.

A removal from YouTube? It’s the new black!

On a more serious note, if you’re really offended and wanted tasteful, I have no doubt they could’ve done a somber message in the spirit of Bud’s Super Bowl welcome home spot or the recent Community of Veterans PSA. Look at the other projects supported by the agency and you can tell they take the idea of honoring the service of the military seriously. Geez, do you think they wouldn’t, being in a military town? This just wakes you up a little. So what?

Rodney will save you.

Ocean City, Maryland, that twisted little freak show of summer fun is back with Rodney the lifeguard. Rodney rescues people stuck in boring meetings and brings them to the beach. Fun!*

*It’s random excited word week.

Now playing in a PA near you.

Speaking of tourism. (Was I?) Oh yeah! Pennsylvania has a different campaign out which I saw a poster for on the train. Pseudo-extended branded content webisode series thing. It’s an interesting take on the usual tourist work. Check it out here. Peter Arthur is this character you follow through various parts of the state in search of a waitress he once knew. For the record, I have not fallen in love with random waitresses while traveling through PA. (Not, that it couldn’t happen, just saying.) Like the recent Texas tourism work, they stayed local and took someone from PA to create the music. You can download the songs here.

One thing that was odd though which I’ve never seen before. Pretty sure the agency was Red Tettemer because, duh, they’d worked the name into the poster credits at the bottom. (Crappy shot, don’t say a word. First row, first name.) Which brings up another topic: Should agencies have their name on stuff. (Another topic for another post.)

Hot funds in the summertime.

Tourism budgets. Mmmm. Nothing screams tourism like beauty shots and slogans. “Remember, there’s more to (insert state) than our website.” See complete list below for tourism efforts from these most United of States. I wish more of them were like Canada with its straight-forward approach or Philly, or even the classic Ocean City, Maryland. States generally have to pitch tourists on the bigger picture, cities are just more fun, aren’t they!) What’s changed since the last time I toured these sites? Overall, integration between the TV spots and web is still lacking. Here’s a few others with new commercials I noticed lately...

Maine has a new one out covering the Sly & the Family Stone classic. Woulda like to have seen the actual song used though. ... Better use of music with the Texas campaign (from TM), where they used various Texas bands and even let you download the songs. They also tie the TV in nicely. ... What’s next? Mormons! Liking the packing job on the car roof though. Cute without being too cute, but they miss out on the What’s next? theme on the website. The rest? You’ll just have to click each and explore. (Look at me with the tour puns!)

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.

state tourism

Yeah, well, okay, land commissions need love too.

Filed under the “Last thing you’d expect to see a promotion for” department, the Texas Land Commission has a new Texas Beach Watch campaign out to warn people about the current state of Texas beaches. You have to go there to watch the clip though because they’re yet another site that didn’t think sharing clips was important. (I know how hard it can be to find your way over to YouTube and upload stuff when you’re out combing the beaches for needles and other medical waste.) It might not have the same edge as Ocean City’s tourism effort, but it’s Texas, and you don’t rush Texas. Ever.

Book your vacation now before it evaporates.

A tourism spot that doesn’t suck via Breitbart. Nice job of owning the inevitable end of the world as your USP while also poking fun at the global warming crowd, this time for Ocean City, Maryland. A sincere thanks for not shoving more lifestyle shots down my throat with catchy tune. (From mghus.com.)

Tags: Ocean City, Maryland