It gets the best part of being the smallest state: you don’t need to schlep half a day to the next activity.
It’s probably Rhode Island’s main sport:
Piling on government.
There's often reason to.
Like in 2016 with that tourism flop. Almost a half-million bucks on a slogan — “cooler and warmer” — that no one understood? And highlighting Rhode Island with a video of skateboarders in Iceland?
The media had a blast with that. Because it’s our sport, too. And our job — holding officials to account.
But there’s a problem with that. We tend to feel it’s a cop-out to give government credit when due.
That’s not fair, so today, for a change, a nod.
From where I sit — they got it right this time.
By which I mean our new tourist campaign. And slogan.
It’s called, simply:
Fun-Sized.
Which kind of gets it — and us.
It gets the best part of being the smallest state: you don’t need to schlep half a day to the next activity.
The brief intro says it well so I’ll quote it:
“We pack almost every type of fun you can imagine into the smallest state in the union. That’s what makes us Fun-Sized; you can experience all that fun in just one visit.”
They do a creative job with brief videos showcasing the options.
You know those videos — usually the same no matter the state. A sweeping two-minute montage from the Adirondacks to the Statue of Liberty with inspirational music.
These guys thought outside the box and came up with a dozen 7-second videos.
One starts with a close-up of a guy tossing a fishing line on rocks, then a lightning-quick pullback showing Jamestown from on high. The tag: “Fishing at Beavertail State Park.” Wrapped up with an old-school twangy jingle and the slogan: “Fun-Sized.”
Same approach for kayaking in South County, mopeds on Block Island, a corn maze, bouldering in Lincoln and more.
One way they blew it last time was giving the contract to the super-star agency that came up with “I Love New York.” But what do Manhattan hotshots know about Rhode Island? Not much.
This time, Commerce RI, the department in charge of tourism, realized something stunning. There’s actually local talent here. We are, after all, The Creative Capital.
So the new contract went to Providence-based Nail Communications, whose website is hip enough to say, “We are an advertising agency that kind of hates advertising.” Not a bad attitude given that the campaign targets millennials who also kind of hate advertising.
Selling tourism is no different than selling soda. It’s about branding. The core question is what’s Rhode Island’s brand? Yeah, beaches, beauty and countless things to do.
But what really makes us unique is size.
Most places you vacation, whether California, Vermont or New Zealand, it’s a long drive to the next activity.
Here — nope.
The campaign finds a way to drive that home.
I’m sure there will be another reason soon for the local sport — piling on government.
But this time:
Not a bad job.
—mpatinki@providencejournal.com
(401) 277-7370
On Twitter: @MarkPatinkin
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