Aw, hell, I don't even know where to start. So let's do like good graduate students, and narrow our thesis. I will let the lameness of the copy shriek for itself. I will avoid catty remarks about how, on the flip side of this page, there is a second full-page ad featuring Portland's arguably "world-renowned" but basically snoreworthy (oops! catty!) Pink Martini. Let us instead simply review the ad's four images -- the images that some genius at Weiden + Kennedy has chosen to entice my fellow New Yorker readers to put down whatever else they were doing and flock to the cultural attractions of the Beaver State.
Upper Left: The Schnitz. Not a bad start! The "Portland" sign on the old Paramount Theater conveys urban excitement and the promise of after-dark culture. It's obvious what's going on in this picture, and it's obvious WHERE it's going on.
Upper Right: A Woman With a Sword. Uh-oh. Now, as a card-carrying native Oregonian, I can surmise that this is an ACTRESS, presumably from the very excellent Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon. I can even guess that she is standing along beautiful Lithia Creek. Charming town, Ashland.
But you know what? There is absolutely no way that Mr. and Mrs. Where-Should-We-Spend-Our-Tourist-Dollars, of Arlington, Virginia, are going to be able to parse that. They are going to see a woman with a sword. "What's with the sword?" Mr. WSWSOTD will ask. "I don't know," his beloved will reply. "Maybe people in Oregon are just extremely eccentric." "Could be," he'll acknowledge. "Hey! Here's a tourist brochure from Wisconsin!"
Lower Left: A Man Holding a Big Chunk of Meat. He looks very friendly, but I'm not sure WHAT he's up too. One looks in vain for any small-print explanation. Perhaps he is getting ready to cook something that the Woman With a Sword killed.
Lower Right: A Woman with a Very Large Book. Mrs. 5000 thinks she knows what this one is all about, but I certainly wouldn't have got it on my own. Now, it is possible that the W+K market reseach department has found that a large segment of the New Yorker readership plans its discretionary travel around Very Large Book destinations. But I kind of doubt it. And if the idea is to cash in on the reputation of the fabulous City of Books -- and hey! that's a great idea! -- I think a slightly less oblique approach is called for.
Just a suggestion. After all, what do ~I~ know about manipulating popular ideas about places?
5 comments:
My goodness, aren't you a curmudgeon. I had a sword...well, ok, a saber, and ok, it was just loaned to me for the class, but I have to say, attacking people with a sword is A LOT OF FUN!
Good! Let's keep all of the New Yorkers out of this place by scaring them away with swords and butcher knives! (except for me. I'm allowed)
ryc: very shiny. I can't wait to try them. They set me back a good chunk so I'm hoping they work out. otherwise, craigslist, here I come.
@fingers: So that was YOU with the sword! You'll be hearing from my lawyer.
@mydog: You're one of us now.
The guy holding his meat, um I mean the meat...looks like a pud! I haven't been to Portland, would like to come, but not so sure anymore...the creep and his meat are a bit of a turnoff!
See, that's what I'm talking about. We've lost Jenny!'s tourist dollars, W+K have run off with my hard-earned tax money, and I'm left holding the, uh, ham. Or whatever.
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