If a little self-deprecation is appealing to the masses, then Nebraska’s new ad campaign may make the state, consistently ranked at the bottom of tourists’ ‘I plan to visit’ list, a bit more visible.
Abandoning such previous slogans as “America’s Frontier,” “My Choice, Nebraska,” “Visit Nebraska, Visit Nice” and “Nebraska…the good life,” the state is going with “Nebraska: It’s not for everyone.”
State Tourism Director John Ricks told the Omaha World-Herald that “To make people listen, you have to hook them somehow. We had to shake people up.”
The ads should do the job. When they start to run next spring, one will open with a child peering into the camera through oversized glasses, with quirky background music. The audio: “Nebraska is kind of like that odd kid. Didn’t say much in school. Slightly peculiar maybe. But when you took the time to get to know him, turned out he was pretty interesting.”
Another shows a couple walking and jumping over toadstool-shaped rocks at Toadstool Geologic Park, with the words on the screen “Famous for our flat, boring landscape.”
Photo: Carhenge, a decidedly unusual Nebraska attraction.
