Oh North Dakota Tourism—are you pure genius or did your weak will create a new wave in ad-making?
The point of quality print ads and ad campaigns make suggestions, and hint towards something that will create controversy. Well maybe not controversy but at least a reaction to catch the eyes of people. Let’s face it, America is just a little on the prude side—I guess we can chalk that up to the conservative fanatics that can’t have a change of mind or heart since their mind rules their heart.
That’s the case we have here; so what, the ad is a little edgy and at my first glance I’d say a legend would be similar to a cowboy, a cowboy cruising modern-day North Dakota who lives a single life hittin’ the saloons and ready to do what people in the prime of their life do—go out and have fun. Maybe North Dakota has a new Vegas-like ad campaign, even if they didn’t mean for it to be seen by the portion of people who think where what happens in Fargo doesn’t really happen, we just wish it would.
North Dakota’s ad works if their intent was to be racy and cause controversy to make their ads stand out more. I feel that if I saw their ads straight up that it wouldn’t make me book a trip to North Dakota nor even give anything close to North Dakota chance. What does work for the N.D. ads is being a little too edgy and having some people overreact to the point where the ads get pulled—that might make me think whomever let the ads get published knowing there would be hubbub where the creator of the ad itself took a little step too far and is now getting the dirty end of the stick pointed at by some—so maybe it’s a small success wrapped in a big package.
Guest post provided by Mike Ribaudo