"State reins in spending on new ad campaign" by Nicole C. Wong, Globe Staff | March 12, 2009
Turns out, travelers aren't the only ones trying to stretch their dollars during the recession.
In the "spirit of cost efficiency," the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism said it plans to roll out a new advertising campaign this month that reuses video filmed for last year's campaign. The footage of attractions across the Bay State has been converted into a dizzying whirl of animated pop art.
WTF do we even HAVE ONE? What a WASTE of TAXPAYER DOLLARS!!!
This year's scaled-back campaign, which includes print ads, is in stark contrast to last year's 90-day marketing blitz, which featured a new TV commercial - and a new reason to visit Massachusetts - each day. This year's on-air campaign features only two new TV commercials, which will air between March 16 and June 12.
Why are we PAYING for TV COMMERCIALS, huh, while COPS, TEACHERS, and FIREMEN are LAID OFF?
The state spent $361,160 producing this year's campaign, 18 percent less than last year's $440,020 bill. And it's spending $2.57 million to advertise in Boston, Providence, Hartford, New York, and Albany - 14 percent less than the $2.99 million it spent last year.
There is NOTHING BETTER to do with NEARLY $3 MILLION DOLLARS?
"We have a responsibility to the destinations, hotels, attractions, shops, and restaurants to find new and innovative ways to market this incredibly diverse state," Betsy Wall, the tourism office's executive director, said in a prepared statement.
Patrick B. Moscaritolo, the chief executive of the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau, hopes the campaign, which was created by ad firm Connelly Partners, will appeal to vacationers within a day's drive of Boston and Cambridge, which have suffered a "dramatic drop-off in business travel."
Do me a favor, out-of-staters: DON'T COME HERE NO MORE!!!
The hard-core business travelers, who each sleep in hotels here more than 75 nights a year and "have propelled forward the Boston and Cambridge visitor industry for the last five years, are now chained to their desks - if they're even fortunate enough to have a desk and they're not out on the street," Moscaritolo said. "The target now becomes leisure travelers."
So you are a "TARGET," vacationer?
You are SOMETHING TO BE AIMED AT, not served as a guest in our fair state, huh?
The STATE LOOKS UPON YOU (and your $$$$, because THAT'S ALL they CARE ABOUT) as a VAMPIRE looks upon an open neck!
Of course, you WILL ALSO HAVE TO PAY HIGHER TAXES when you come visit, vacationer!
That's MASSACHUSETTS' HOSPITALITY for ya!
