Will the 30-second advertisement promoting Kansas that begins running Thursday on a screen in Times Square in New York City make viewers want to visit or move to Kansas? I hope so, but as a spokesman for the Kansas Department of Commerce noted, it’s not easy overcoming the negative impressions of Kansas formed by the state’s anti-evolution science standards and the Phelps funeral protests. Still, the state needs to try, I guess.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
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29 Comments
“The commercial features several scenic northeast Kansas vistas and is designed to showcase the state’s wide open spaces, while suggesting that Kansas also is a wired, sophisticated place.”
Yeah, Baby! we’uns be waaay sophisticated!
Welcome to Kansas, where the Dark Ages still exist.
Yeah X.
And they are showing this thing in NYC? Hell they probably think it’s a trailer for some new “Little House on the Prairie”!
We reached the dark ages? When did this happen?
My editor is in NYC and grew up in NY, as far as I know. Her significant other is from KC, so she visits KS/MO with him at least once a year to see his family.
Still, I’m not sure even she knows what KS is like. None of them do. But do we understand them any better?
Just thinking…
No, RD we dont understand them any better. I loved celebrating both the jewish and christian holidays. Sadly, no ramen back then :( They all take their families to the Thanksgiving Day parade like people there go to Riverfest.
I remember the only corn tortillas I could get were in a CAN fer cryin’ out loud. But I learned to love lox, knish, and in little Italy, (they pronounce it it-lee) I learned about cannoli and generations of families who live in the same building. The list could go on.
I felt safer walking the streets of NYC than I did in upscale suburban NJ, or in KCMO for that matter. HEE HEE and I loved Jerusalem Pizza (kosher) in New Brunswick and then we could walk to the Russian restaurant for desert before taking the train into the city to the village.
Multiculturalism at its finest.
And did I mention green beer, corned beef and the endless singing in honor of saint paddy?
heheheheh.
I love living in Kansas, despite the idiosyncracies. Personally, I don’t care at all what the rest of the country thinks of it.
I have relatives that live in Virginia, I remember the first time they ever came to Kansas for a visit. They were shocked, amazed and disappointed by what they saw and did not see. They were shocked to see we had buildings taller then two stories and that we had color T.V. They were amazed at the level of civilization we had and how great the whiskey was (Kentucky whiskey, the good imported stuff LoL). And how low the prices were, I had been to their house which was outside of D.C. and at the time a dozen eggs was around two dollars.
And they were disappointed, there was no Cowboys riding horses everywhere, there were no Indians riding war ponies down Douglas. There were no Indians period! So I took them to the Mid-American all Indian center. Everyone there were white, some there were even blond, wearing beads and Navaho shirts!
By the time they left they had been educated, but not really impress referring to Kansas as “Quaint”,they never came back.
When I was in High school, I worked as a mechanic part-time at a filling station on I-70. I was amazed at some of the questions I got asked by people passing through. Were buffalo crossings clearly marked? Would window glass on a car stop an arrow?Serious!
I’d suggest that people visit a place before they make stupid assumptions about people and places.
We had exchange students from Germany in the 70’s (me as a student/”brother”) and in the 90’s (as a host). In both cases, it was amazing what they expected when they came to Kansas. Indians, tornados, flat, etc.
Of course, the European vision of the US is New York and LA – the east and left coast. They have almost no concept of the vast majority of the country. Much of the east/left coast has the same misinformation – it’s “fly-over country.”
Personally, I hope most continue to feel that way, and leave us the hell alone. Coastal folks – feel free to visit, if you like, but don’t feel obligated to stay (but please, please take Phelps with you – and throw him out of a moving car on the way). I’ll take Kansas much as it is; not perfect, but a vast improvement over NY or LA.
New York? Love to visit, couldn’t pay me enough to live there. LA? Been through it, no thanks. Give me land, a good bass pond, game to hunt, and leave me alone. That’s just about paradise.
Kansas attracted my family and me here so the state must be doing something right. Kansas is a great place to raise kinder and start a business and yes I have a very DIVERSE workforce! :)
V.L.R.B!!!
The cost of living alone should attract a lot of people to Kansas! They could sell their 900 sq. ft. apartment in the City and buy something VERY NICE in Kansas — with acreage!
“I’d suggest that people visit a place before they make stupid assumptions about people and places.”
That would be good advise for kansans who distain the blue states.
Ya know, I hear china has an even lower cost of living, as does mississippi. Maybe gertie thinks people would rather live there, since they can buy an even bigger house with more acreage. How is that working for kansas now?
We have numerous communities that give away FREE land and still get few takers in ks. What does that tell ya about low cost bringing people here?
Few people want to live in a third world country. Given our attitutes about science, bigotry and the glorious economy that generates such low property values, I think kansas does qualify as a third world country.
And we think THEY are stupid? heheheheheh
Kansas is pretty cool but it’s low on the rankings as a tourist state. Last I checked, we rank at the bottom.
If you’re not here on business or passing through, there isn’t anything to draw tourist like it is in other states.
We don’t have much recreation like mountains, beaches and large national parks. We also don’t have any battle fields, point of interest, famous dead people and their memorial and ect.
It is a great place to live. But it won’t exactly attract a lot of tourist and that may or may not be a plus. Hard to determine.
Although I couldn’t see myself living anywhere but Wichita in Kansas. I don’t think I could downsize, I’m a little bit too urbanized.
Joe…We got Hickock & Smith and BTK, we have the Big Well, the Garden of Eden, and Russell’s Oil Patch Museum… what more could you want?
Actually, the Sternberg Museum in Hays IS a top class, but little known attraction!
I was working in Tampa…and my job was eliminated. My employer offered me continuous employment, if I were to move to New Jersey.
Rather than continue a 30 year career, I found aother job..here in Wichita. Actions prove I would rather live here than the east coast! Took a $20k pay cut to move here, but am learning to love it…except for the wackos, that is (Fox, Wright, Phelps, most of the BoE, etc).
Heck yes, let’s take East Coaster’s money..and send em back! I like Kansas the way it is.
And, Sam..don’t forget the biggest ball of twine! Or the geographic center of the 48 states! Or Big Brutus!
raptor…OMG.. I forgot BOOT HILL!!!!!
When I was a kid, my dad was on the Kansas Fish and Game Commission and I actually got to RIDE on Big Brutus!!! It was even bigger then (or maybe I was smaller)…
“I think kansas does qualify as a third world country.
And we think THEY are stupid? heheheheheh”
Living in a location you despise is the definition of stupid.
Todd, we’ve missed you so much.
I guess if I were a democrat and leaving the state, you would say I “cut and run”. Dont they say here the mexicans should have stayed home and tried to improve things?
I suppose staying here would be akin to staying the course, er, lie and deny.
Hey’ let’s not forget that huge rat or gopher or ground squirrel out on west I-70.
Rolling with laughter XXX.
The famous “World’s Largest Prairie Dog”.
Haven’t seen the state’s “30 second advertisement” supposedly flashing in Times Square. Presumably it uses the theme, “Kansas, as big as ……”I am a proud but not gullible Kansan. Remember, newspaper reports say Kansans paid some $28 MILLION to invent that six word phrase. It means nothing and fails to evoke a warm, fuzzy feeling towards our great Sunflower state.
In my opinion, to claim its purpose is to combat negative images of the Phelps family or anti-evolutionary science standards or the relatively flat wheat fields and those messy grimy oil pumps is, in reality, erecting giant windmills to joust with by our tax wasting Kansas public relations people. Or straw men if you wish.
Sorry, I won’t be attending a cocktail party in New York’s Times Square at taxpayer expense to view the advertisement.
JWink, great post.
There used to be a Kansas Dept. of Commerce grant program for marketing assistance to businesses and communities that agreed to use the “kansas…as big as you think” slogan.
My understanding is that the program basically had no takers, so it has been “redirected” heheh. Dont know that for a fact, but I do know when it was announced, no one was jumping at the chance to use it.
It was also rolled out about the time of terry, joe and fred’s hate amendment campaign. It was appropriated by the non haters who printed bumper stickers that said “Kansas…as bioted as you think”.
It was a national joke, so ya gotta wonder how many progressives in New York would just point at the slogan and laugh.
It will be interesting to see if anyone does any “after polling” or focus groups to see how effective it was. But I aint holdin’ ma breath for that after polling to happen.
Could they have possibly found a BIGGER helmet for that dude?!
“World’s Largest Prairie Dog”?Thanks, KFG….I thought that was one ugly rat.
Promote Kansas for what it is “The Buckle of The Bible Belt!”
JWink, $28 MILLION for that worthless phrase? I hope you’re kidding! I’ll gladly put aside my arena dukes for a little while and have your back on this one. That’s outrageous.
Efforts to promote tourism in Kansas are a waste of money. Kansas can be a good place to live, but only the most delusional optimists would actually expect people from around the country to spend their hard earned money and limited vacation time taking a trip to Kansas. When you cannot even convince Kansans to vacation in the state, how do you expect people to travel to Kansas in lieu of the hundreds of other destinations that hold much more appeal to the general public. No matter how cheap or wide open Kansas may be, I doubt that a New Yorker is going to see the ad and decide that Kansas is a great place to spend a week or even a few days while missing out on the mountains, ocean, culture or attractions that other more popular areas have to offer. Would you rather hike the Grand Canyon or the Flint Hills for the same price?
Also, the low cost of living in Kansas is a myth. Wages are paid relative to the cost of living in any given area, so while a house in NYC may cost a lot, your paycheck is also a lot larger to compensate. I have lived all over the country and when you factor in items like property tax, utilities, cost of food, sales tax, etc. relative to income, Kansas, while nice, is actually a pretty expensive place to live.
Scott, believe it or not, Kansas gets visitors from all over the world. Maybe not in the numbers that, say, Florida gets, but a defeatest mentality is the last thing we need around here. You’re right in that we’ll never be a top destination, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be a secondary destination. When someone wants to experience something other than the beaches and mountains they always go to, Kansas could be a great place to try. We have a hell of a lot of history around here, a Native American heritage that Arizona and Oklahoma market real well, the last vestiges of prairie on the entire continent, and great cities like Wichita to visit. No we aren’t Florida or California, but we’re something different. We’re quaint. With all due respect, the negativity, pessimism, and self-loathing you demonstrate is one of the major reasons nothing gets done in this state.