State plans national TV tourism ads

The Nevada Commission on Tourism will begin advertising the state's charms on national television next month.

Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt said it will be the first time the state has used national TV to promote its attractions. The theme of the campaign is "Nevada - Wide Open."

It portrays people engaged in a variety of outdoor activities and accompanies the print advertisements which began running last month in travel and adventure magazines.

"It highlights the state's made-for-adventure landscape but expands the types of adventures and relates to a much broader tourism sector," Hunt said.

The national TV ad campaign is costing the tourism commission $500,000. It will appear on Discovery, ESPN, ESPN2, Fox Sports Net West, Fox Sports Net West 2, Fox Sports World, Outdoor Channel, Outdoor Life, Speed Channel, Spike TV and the Travel Channel.

Each ad will give viewers a toll-free number to call for Nevada travel information, and the commission will monitor the response to determine the effectiveness of the campaign.

The new ads no longer focus solely on hard adventure and portray a more light-hearted mood than the dramatic-looking characters and edgy scenes depicted in the first phase of the adventure campaign.

"Wide Open" succeeds "Bring It On," introduced in January 2002 to launch a concept of Nevada as a primal playground offering hard adventure such as mountain biking and rock climbing.

The "Wide Open" campaign refers to Nevada's wide-open spaces and variety of adventures that suit all activity levels, commission Executive Director Bruce Bommarito said.

The new theme also will appear on the redesigned Web site, www.travelnevada.com, which also will be available in February. Web site search capabilities will enable the visitor to find and download information from the state's Visitor Guide, such as activities and lodging.