Lately the news has been a lot of doom and gloom — economic recession, global warming, sky-high gas prices, etc, etc. Obviously this creates a bit of a situation for the people responsible for trying to get tourists to come to Ocean City this summer: people watching the TV these days are not likely to be especially receptive to an invitation to relax and unwind at the beach. “Wait, vacation? But Brian Williams just said that gas will be $10 a gallon next year! I should be starting stockpiles already!”

The solution, dreamed up by the OC department of tourism, is to stop fighting the dominant discourse and just go along with it. Okay, it’s the end of the world as we know it… what better time to go to the beach? The ads now airing on regional channels point out that due to global warming, eventually the oceans are all going to evaporate, so why not enjoy them while you still can, at Ocean City? You can see the ad on YouTube here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=s27Ilv84bj4&fmt=18 Yes, that really is the Mayor’s voice you hear. The campaign also includes related newspaper ads.
So far, the campaign is getting a big response, including an article on the front page of the FOX news website as well as in local papers like Ocean City Today. Making light ofthe big issues is risky business, but one thing’s for sure — it’s definitely getting attention.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 11th, 2008 at 12:52 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.