Gulf Coast Tourism Ads In Wake of BP Oil Spill

BP’s oils spill has jeopardized the $20 billion travel and tourism business along the Gulf Coast.  State governments have bargained with BP for advertising budgets of $25 million for Florida and $15 million tourism grants to Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi.  Having just gone to a Gulf Beach in Florida last weekend, I can attest that the beach was completely clean and is open for enjoyment.  With many local Gulf economies depending on tourism, the states are smart in making their case to potential Gulf visitors.

The question to tourism officials is: how should these significant grants best be used to make an impact?  Of course, their answer was tv ads.  Yes, tv does have the broadest reach, can connect emotionally, and was a fast response time vehicle.  But it seems like the “easy” choice.  Given the short lead time, let’s give that decision a pass and move onto the actual messages.

The following 3 tv ads (1 for the entire Gulf Region, 1 for Mississippi, and 1 for Alabama) all welcome tourists to enjoy the clean beaches of the Gulf.  With oil spewing offshore, this is obviously a touchy subject.  A close inspection shows that they have slightly different approaches, tones and messages which have varying degrees of effectiveness.

Let’s start with the Gulf Coast region ad.  The overall tone is balanced: positive, but not too positive given the tragedy just offshore.  There is subtle reference to the oil spill without calling it by name, in saying that government agencies are working hard to preserve the natural beauty.  The spot ends on a high “the gulf coast is open … for fun.  We’d love to see ya.”  This could be tweaked to be slightly more human and embracing of nature, but overall this is the strongest of the three ads referenced in this blog post.

Now, onto the Mississippi tourism ad.  This ad gets a thumbs up for being locally authentic, with Tourism Director Mary Beth narrating the spot.  Smart to time stamp (May 11th) and location stamp (Mississippi beach) the spot.  The tone of this ad is very positive and upbeat.  Given that the Tourism Director is front and center and yapping away with only positive messages, it comes off as perhaps too idealistic.  To improve this spot, we would suggest making a subtle reference to the natural disaster so that it comes across as truly authentic and makes a fuller emotional connection.

Onto the final ad, this from Alabama tourism.  It starts off with a more serious and sophisticated tone, more akin to the 1st Gulf ad above.  However, it immediately veers off course with the statement, “It’s June 2010 and nothing has changed.”  Really?  Are you kidding me?  And onto “Alabama’s Coast is Absolutely Clear,” which together with the first statement speaks of arrogance that Alabama is unconcerned with the tragedy of the Gulf.  To top it all off, the final still is of Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail which sponsored the ad.  In order for these ads to work, people need to trust the message:  that Alabama’s beaches really are clean, safe, and enjoyable.  As of today, it is true … but the Alabama ad does little to instill further confidence.

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