New Mexico's Controversial Aliens

Diane Clarkson | November 27, 2007, 03:17 PM

New Mexico launched an advertising campaign a while ago that has, in turn, launched quite a bit of debate.

The ads and print campaigns feature alien office workers chatting about their personal lives and how New Mexico is the greatest place on earth.

Critics of the campaign fear it will frighten tourists away.

Campaign defenders say it is something different and engaging. In fact, the campaign has won an Adrian Award honoring excellence in advertising and marketing.

In my experience, the travel industry often struggles with advertising and brand position. It is a noisy and competitive marketplace, and the desire to do something different sometimes distracts from strategic advertising. Destination marketing is all about inspiration and awareness, evoking emotion that drives the desire to visit. It is best done when messages and images are integrated across tv, print and web channels. (I’ve always been a fan of the “100% Pure New Zealand” campaign)

The New Mexico campaign is unusual in its images and content, particularly in an environment where the internet offers rich media for cross channel integration that can use images, sound and video to inspire travelers.

Currently, at a recent meeting of the state's tourism commission, the agency was urged to "soften up" the aliens in the ad. While the New Mexico campaign is different and it caught my attention, it certainly does not inspire me to visit New Mexico. And that is what destination tourism is supposed to do.