South Dakota’s new ad campaign: At least we’re not Mars

By Niraj Chokshi

“Why die on Mars, when you can live in South Dakota?”

That’s the question at the heart of a new ad campaign in which the state positions itself as a better alternative to a barren, lifeless rock.

The campaign — from the governor’s Office of Economic Development and first reported on by South Dakota’s Argus Leader, which ran a long story late last week about the tongue-in-cheek effort — is an attempt to shake the perception outsiders have of South Dakota as merely a tourist destination. What better way to disabuse the public of that view than contrasting the state with the hottest tourist destination around?

The campaign represents a shift from old selling points that failed to resonate, such as the lack of an income tax, in an attempt to jump on what’s current.
more
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2015/04/20/south-dakotas-new-ad-campaign-at-least-were-not-mars/