Campaign relies on element of surprise

A new phase of the ongoing ad campaign, "Nevada Wide Open" launched by the Nevada Commission on Tourism features classic Las Vegas icons in unlikely locations.

The new ads apply a light touch to the ongoing adventure theme, taking renowned Las Vegas Strip entertainers such as Elvis Presley, Wayne Newton and a line of dazzling showgirls out of the showrooms and out into the great outdoors.

The first print ad, in the current issue of Outside magazine, shows a tuxedo-clad Wayne Newton fly-fishing in Northern Nevada's Pyramid Lake. Future ads will include showgirls in colorful feathered costumes cross-country skiing at Lake Tahoe and Elvis impersonators mountain biking in the rugged Ruby Mountains near Elko.

The ads will direct readers to a toll-free number, as well as a page on the tourism commission's Web site. The telephone numbers and the Web pages are different for each publication so that NCOT can track where the responder saw the ad. Once responders call the number or visit the Web page, they can order or look at Nevada tourism information.

"When we began to market Nevada as an adventure destination, it sparked public interest because it was new and surprising," says commission director Bruce Bommarito.

Public response to the media advertising increased 30 percent in fiscal 2006 over fiscal 2005, Bommarito said. Over the entire 2.5 years since Wide Open made its debut, visits to the tourism Web site reached nearly 3.8 million.

The new ads and are scheduled to run in adventure and travel publications like Outside magazine and National Geographic Traveler.