Great Creative Wasted on Bad Execution
Recently, the city of Los Angeles announced a new ad slogan: “That’s So LA,” which will be used to launch a $2 million marketing campaign seeking to capture the hearts, minds and dollars of tourists “around the world.” (How, you ask will $2 million reach around the world? Well, I’ll get to that….) First, let’s talk about the campaign concept itself – taking a term of derision and turning it into an advertising motto is, well, So LA (and great creative). For the past several years we’ve been using “See My LA” – a campaign completely focused on celebrity-ism versus actually seeing anything about “my” LA. Sampling of creative below – just celebrities and what they say LA is. (Note: If you’re viewing my blog on a feed or Plaxo, you’ll need to click to our website to see the images.)
We never did get to see my/our LA….. And when I first heard of the new campaign (just heard the motto without seeing the creative executions), I thought “That’s So LA” would be the same, but it actually presents so much more than the celebrity point-of-view – it takes the concept of what happens in LA and exploits it. A bit of fun poked at ourselves – and that, I think, is a good thing. Well that and actually *showing* LA. OK, you had me at “So.”
To quote the promotional materials, “There is definitely an LA way of doing things and we’re famous for it – whatever ‘it’ means. The expression ‘That’s So LA’ has become part of the language because it captures that indefinable something that makes LA – LA.” So perhaps, “That’s So LA” is indeed So LA? If by that you mean wasting a couple million on self-promotion to ourselves, then indeed, that’s So LA.
I like it!
Posted by on 03/06 at 08:53 AM