30/07/10, 05:50:41 EDT

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What’s This? ‘This’ Is to Promote Tourism

cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg unveiled New York City’s first global advertising campaign this afternoon in Times Square.

Using the theme, “This is New York City,” the ads, which will appear on TV, in print and online, are aimed at attracting an additional five million visitors a year to the city.
The centerpiece of the campaign is a video, in 30- and 60-second versions, depicting sights in each of the five boroughs. It features a remix of Ella Fitzgerald’s rendition of “Take the ‘A’ Train.” The ads are scheduled to be televised in American cities, including Boston, Philadelphia and Miami, and in foreign countries, including Britain, Italy, Spain and Brazil.

Mr. Bloomberg has set a goal of increasing tourism to 50 million visitors a year by 2015. Toward that end, he has pledged to spend an additional $15 million a year through the city’s tourism promotion agency, NYC & Company.

NYC & Company has advertised only sporadically and has never run a comprehensive campaign to lure visitors from overseas. Most of the tourism advertising in New York has been through the state’s long-running “I Love New York” campaign, which recently marked its 30th anniversary.

 Printable Version  | published Oct 10, 2007