‘Lucky for You, There’s Nothing to Do Here’ Says Nebraska’s New Tourism Campaign

There’s self-deprecating, and then there’s Nebraska’s new tourism campaign.

For four consecutive years, the state has come in dead last out of states people want to visit, according to MMGY Global, a travel marketing research firm. Instead of trying to flaunt the state’s music and art scene in Omaha or wildlife, officials are moving into the camp of “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” — namely in the form of their latest campaign.

The Commission’s new slogan is “Honestly, it’s not for everyone,” and we gotta give it to them: It’s pretty brilliant. They’re not trying to pretend to be something they’re not, and are well-aware that the state “may not be on everyone’s bucket list of places to visit.” They’re trying to appeal more to city-goers who want to escape “the big city life for moments of solitude in the open plains” than chic world travelers without being — dare we say — corny. This is a little something we like to call knowing your audience.

You’ll be able to find this campaign in ads next spring, which will feature everything from hikers on a rock formation, complimented with the phrase “famous for our flat, boring landscape” to viewers.

Locals, though, are still a little *plain* skeptical. Micah Yost, a Nebraska native told The Washington Post, “I just don’t think the best way to pitch ourselves is calling out stereotypes about ourselves. There’s no reason why that would draw people to the state.”

He also brought up the fact that if people just “view us as cornfields and dirt roads,” they’ll miss out on other things happening in the state — like “innovation happening at the universities, the great sports, the great restaurants.”

The real kicker, though? They paid a Colorado marketing firm to come up with it. So they really weren’t kidding when they said it’s not for everyone.

Featured image courtesy of Getty Images.