My Houston, We Don't Have a Problem
4/02/2008 at 4:30 PM
Tags: Travel Advertising, Travel Marketing, Tourism Board Travel (all tags)
Houston is the latest city to adopt the generic and unoriginal "My (Fill in the blank of your city)" tourism campaign.
The New York Times reports that the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau has put together the "My Houston" television and print campaign where local celebrities talk about what they love about Houston:
Clay Walker, the country singer, promoted the zoo and Texas's biggest rodeo; Hilary Duff, the actress and singer, Mexican food; Oscar de la Rosa, lead vocalist of the Latino group La Mafia, cultural diversity; and the Bushes, the city's big heart and neighborliness.
Also Yao Ming, the Houston Rockets gigantic center says he likes Yao Restaurant and Bar because, well, he knows the owner. Cue monumental eye roll.
Despite the fact that this sort of campaign has been done before (in Los Angeles among other places), Houston believes this campaign will be different.
Previously, Houston relied on campaigns that cherished the bad things of Houston along with the good, although we think showing hurricanes, heat, flying cockroaches, mosquitoes and polluted air in an ad spot is never very wise.
Now the folks at the GHCVB have wizened up and realized that in this celebrity-obsessed culture of ours, celebrities can sell Houston better than hurricanes and cockroaches.
But that's not to sell the city short. Houston is actually getting some new perks. The Discovery Green, a 12-acre urban park with a lake and restaurants, will open on April 13 near the George R. Brown convention center and Minute Maid park, home of the Astros. Meanwhile, the city's existing largest green space, Hermann Park, will get a $15 million restoration, upgrading the 24-gauge steam train to include stops at the zoo, science museum and outdoor theater.
Related Stories:
· No Need to Apologize: City Tries a Little Boasting [NYT]
· Tourism Board Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: Michael (mx5tx)]
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