attractions marketing

Tourism Campaigns / Retro Ad of the Week: Mardi Gras in Louisiana, 1966

Mardi Gras might very well be “the biggest free show on Earth,” and there may be eight good reasons to go (as listed in the body copy). If I could travel back in time I would tell the Tourist Development Commission (and I’m sure their agency tried to as well): choose one, and go with it. Listing eight reasons is overkill. Showing nine visuals assaults the eyes. Doing both is like water-boarding your audience with beer and Hurricanes and flicking gold doubloons at their heads.

FUN FACT: In 2014, for the first time in history, the City of New Orleans launched an official Mardi Gras tourism campaign, separate from the state’s efforts. The city invested a modest $300,000 in print and online ads in the hopes of attracting tourists from surrounding states. (Source: Skift)

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