Well, I guess I wasn’t the only one who noticed something wrong with the new campaign imagery. State official have decided to ”alter” the campaign. A statement released from Alisa Bailey, President and CEO of Virginia Tourism Corporation states:
”We have decided to adjust the new Virginia is for Lovers Live Passionately campaign due to concerns that the heart/hand symbol has a meaning other than what our agency intended.
For the majority of people, the heart sign is a symbol of love – and the campaign’s images intended to convey a love of travel and love of Virginia. A heart has been our symbol since 1969 and we were looking for new ways to express it.
Below is an example of the slight adjustment we were able to make in less than 24 hours at no cost that continues to promote Virginia is for Lovers but eliminates the hand symbol. We were able to use existing photography so it was an easy change. This ad example ties into one of the largest national travel trends involving groups of female friends traveling together.
We will make the necessary adjustments to the new Virginia is for Lovers campaign to gear up for the full campaign rollout in spring of 2008. Virginia’s investment in tourism advertising is proven to generate a 5 to 1 return on investment.”
URL: http://www.virginia.org/site/features.asp?featureid=415
How much of that investment will be wasted on a poorly thought out campaign?