June 20, 2007
The Weather Is Fine, Wish You Were Queer
Torontoist has had a long history of critiquing Tourism Toronto's lackluster ad campaigns. Remember Toronto Unlimited? We had a field day with that one. And those awful Live With Culture ads? Yuck.
But it seems like the appointment of David Whitaker as Tourism Toronto's president back in March injected a little spirit into the agency. Earlier this week, they announced a new campaign targeting gay tourists from the States.
The tagline? Toronto: As Gay As It Gets.
After all, gay tourists are paying tourists. It's estimated that the gay travel market is a $55-billion a year industry worldwide (in the marketing industry, it's called "pink money"). Research shows that gay Americans frequently travel, hold passports, and don't mind dropping a few hundred bucks on a bottle of Amarone to go with their duck confit.
But is Toronto truly "as gay as it gets"? Sure, its most notable landmark is a giant phallus, but can it really compare to homo hotspots like San Francisco or Key West? Regardless, as the home of legal same-sex marriages and one of the largest Pride festivals in the world, we're just surprised that Tourism Toronto didn't think of this years ago.
Original photo by Sherry and Carl in the Torontoist Flickr Pool. Edits by Karen Whaley.
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It's funny that the best tourism slogan to come along in years is "As Gay As It Gets." Cheeky, effective, and funny. That's what happens when you get a little edgier.
We need wryer slogans like this that don't necessarily try to be all things to all people, resulting in dulled-down mediocrity. Play up our naughty, irreverent side too. So what if grandma's group of bluehairs thinks daytripping into the city may be too bawdy of a proposition? The best thing we could do in a tourism campaign is to make Toronto actually seem interesting rather than just an option because it's closer than NYC or Chicago or because your company has a conference here.
Perhaps we should ask the folks across the lake in Rochester, who, in my experience, seem to be our greatest cheerleaders.
Oh, no... I think that just sounds like such a joke. "As Gay As It Gets"? Obviously, it's not an entirely accurate claim - I can guarantee that Brighton is totally gayer - but then "Reasonably Gay" or "Gayer Than Most" wouldn't be much of a tagline. But at least if we're going to make outrageous claims, why not something like "The Gayest Place on Earth" or "Gayer Than Tom Cruise"? Perhaps it's the reference to the willing-to-settle "As Good As It Gets", but I find the phrase banal and almost apologetic.
They should have gone with "Gay As Fuck."
Why does every post card have to have the lousy downtown skyline on it? Or wolves? Or chicks in bikinis? Nothing sums up Toronto like a wolf sitting next to a half naked chick on the beach. Hello!
LOVE IT!!!!
LOVE IT!!!!
LOVE IT!!!!
for all those that are a bit homo-phobic
i recommend another tagline
"toronto... ...as g(r)ay as it gets!"
Johnnie: It was because Toronto: Gayer Than A Bag Of Dicks was deemed too sexist.
Marc Lostracco = best person ever.
I don't like how gay = male.
gay = male in the tourism industry because (just like in the het world) men make more money and spend more money. A pair of gay men is very likely to be DINK (dual income no kids) -- very highly desirable demographic for an industry like tourism.
Did anyone notice the cock-o-mamy "Gay as it Gets" poster only shows the city east of the CN Tower?
Why do I get a feeling, that old sly fox, city councillor Kyle Rae, who represents Ward 27, is up to his old tricks. No doubt the Convention of the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association coming to Toronto in 2009 will be flim-flammed into believing, Toronto has one gay village, where Rae resides.
What will attract American tourists to Toronto is diversity. Not one gay village, but two, the more the merrier. Plus all the wonderful other things the city has to offer out-of-town visitors.
But this is not likely to happen, since this so called "gay marketing advisory group" is chaired by city councillor Kyle Rae, and his cronies, a dozen unknown community leaders.
Will Rae and his cronies be promoting other gay neighbourhoods? Not bloody likely. Which means the 300 thousand grand is a waste of taxpayers money. Tourist are not dumb and neither are taxpayers! ...