| |
April 28, 2004
Need More Snow in the Rockies!
Officials call Las Vegas a Geographic Magnet, but I hope that somehow they
can create a water magnet for the city. One look at Lake Mead, and
it easy to see that the water level is dropping. The smaller than average
snow pack in the Rockies this year only assures us that the level will continue
to drop. All this growth is good, especially for business owners, but there
is only so much water to go around. Eventually there will need to be controls
put into place, to slow the phenomenal growth this area is experiencing.
All that said, there was some encouraging news from an
economic
growth forum held at UNLV yesterday. One segment of the population
experiencing huge growth in this city is in the area of
mature consumers. This supports my idea of creating a web site dedicated
to the needs of this market. Just need to find more water!
posted by
Andy Loughlin
7:50am |
 |
Demographer Peter Morrison, left, mingles
Tuesday with UNLV official
Keith Schwer, center, and Michael Majewski of North Las Vegas before the
start of
Las Vegas Perspective 2004. "Another expanding segment is made up of mature
adults, empty nester baby boomers and "two-generation geriatric" families
with growing service needs," Morrison said.
Photo by K.M. Cannon. |
April 26, 2004
Viagra for 'Blogging
This whole 'blogging thing is still new to me. I've said that before,
but I feel the need to repeat myself since most new readers don't read
the archives (both months). I do have readers (incredible!). Not
just family, and the friends who brought into this online rambling, but others
from places around the world I would have never expected. I call them
readers because there is a group of repeat visitors, although I'm thinking
of offering a stipend to get them leave a comment. I have thoughts
that they come to read this site to show some friends, while they are all
laughing because I have become a laughing stock among bloggers around the
world. That's ok, they are still visitors, and I believe that
if I can get repeat visitors, that there may be something to this.
A big attraction to doing this was, and still is, creating the
page(s) itself. Back in the mid '90's (when it was fashionable) I was
very interested in creating web pages and learning HTML. I was side
tracked by my work in print advertising and raising my daughter back then,
and subsequently it took a back seat. A far back seat, like one of
those really big long buses with an upper and lower deck, that kind of back
seat. Well, I'm revisiting it again, and now there's a lot more to learn
than just HTML (and yes, I'm still raising my daughter). Now my reading
is consisting of "how to" books in web page design (any helpful reading you
can pass along will be greatly appreciated).
For Seniors Only, is a business I started in 2001. This began as a
direct marketing product mailed to the 50+ market in Northern California's
Bay Area. Businesses interested in reaching this market could utilize
my services to do so. Great idea, and a growing market, plus little
or no competition. In the past I have published magazines, shoppers,
door hangers, newsletters, and a small neighborhood newspaper (The Santa
Clarita Sun). I learned that creating an effective marketing program
to the 50+ market was both a potential gold mine, and a really
huge tough nut to crack. For Seniors Only's first mailing was a success
in that it made a profit, but it nearly killed me. So, I took my idea
and moved on, waiting for the next window to open. I'm starting to
believe that the internet may very well be a medium to start marketing to
this market, while still maintaining (gainful) employment elsewhere. This
all has brought me to the process of creating a new 'blog,
called For Seniors Only.com. I know, I'm not a"senior" yet, but for
the purposes of this site a "senior" is 50+. This may start a revolt,
I know, but if you don't feel old, you're not. I'm not 50+ either, but
I'm going to start a senior blog, offering a place for the 50+ in Las
vegas to vent, and respond to current news events and the like. Of course
there is a revenue generating facet to this site, since this site will
offer a full Services Directory to seniors in Las Vegas. This is why it is
critical that I get my ducks in a row to create a quality site. I gotta
gear up. Launch date should be soon, stay tuned and wish me luck. Of course,
as always I welcome any input.
posted by
Andy Loughlin
9:10pm
April 24, 2004
Windows are a Alive... With the Sound of Music
Providing you look and listen carefully, you can find music in almost
anything, anywhere. If you are real creative, you can create music
from everyday objects. We've all heard the rhythms created by performance
groups banging and clanging everything from garbage cans to PVC pipe. Well
here is a creative attempt at organizing sounds made by the
Windows Operating
System into a musical format. I give it a A for creativity, but a weak
C- for overall quality. (Courtesy of
Albino Black Sheep, via
1 Mans View).
posted by
Andy Loughlin
8:46am
April 23, 2004
Heroes
It goes without saying that the news of
Pat
Tillman's death in Afghanistan is very sad. This is truely a remarkable
story, and a remarkable person. I understand why the media focuses
on his sacrifice. He was a football star that walked away from a multi-million
dollar career to fight terrorism in Afghanistan. So I am not surprised
to hear about the news of his death in the media. I also think of the other
soldiers (and their families) that have lost their lives. The 600+ others
that are not sports athletes, or turned down lucrative careers to join the
fight. All these people are remarkable people.
posted by
Andy Loughlin
8:55pm
April Means Peril
Only seven more days until the end of April. We might make it yet.
I say this because in a recent discussion with my mom, she pointed
out that nothing good ever happened in April. She went on to describe her
list of bad events that occurred in April (I don't recall what was on the
list right now). I agreed saying, yeah, your right April is bad! Our
call was short, and after I hung up I continued on driving the streets of
Las Vegas. This thought stayed with me though. Why couldn't I
think of anything that happened in the month of April, that was good. I
wasn't even looking for outstanding, great, or even terrific, but just
good. While the bad and sad things can seem to all happen at the same time,
if you look hard enough, there's good things too. Then it hit me. The
proof I needed to completely debunk her theory. My daughter, K, was
born in January.
posted by
Andy Loughlin
8:01pm
April 22, 2004
No Internet for You!
Authorities in Shanghai, China are closely
monitoring
internet usage. Making sure people aren't going to any forbidden sites.
This may explain the sudden drop in click through's from China lately.
A Vegas Blog can be very threatening to the stability of a Communist
state.
posted by
Andy Loughlin
7:12am
April 21, 2004
Local Attraction
Stations Casinos, a chain of casinos that cater to the Las Vegas
locals, has had a
record
first quarter. Gee I wonder if that has anything to do with the
fact the we moved here January 8th? I doubt it. So far my take,
as well as my wife's, has been far more than we put in the casinos. As
for my wife's mother... well she may be a contributor to the casino's increase
in revenue stream. Actually, I do believe it has to do with the increase
of new residents from out of the area. If you have been here a while
the novelty of the casino's will wear off, and if it doesn't then you probably
have to move away. With 5,000 people moving here each month, the
novelty is alive and well for many. I still like to explore the
big hotel casinos, and the restaurants. I am bored with many of the local
casinos already, although if you are machine player, the station casinos
seem to pay much more than any Strip casinos.
posted by
Andy Loughlin
7:33am |
|
| Texas Station and Fiesta Rancho, two Station Casinos
properties, appear in July 2000. Station Casinos' stock price has risen 55
percent this year, outpacing the Dow Jones casino index.
REVIEW-JOURNAL FILE PHOTO
|
April 19, 2004
Yet Another Task Force
Tom Ridge is in
Las Vegas today. Apparently he's at the National Association of
Broadcasters meeting to announce some new Task Force to develop event security
at large, high exposure gatherings. Actually, Homeland Security could
learn a few
things from our town. Las Vegas has some of the best security technology
in existence being used everyday at the casinos. This technology still didn't
flag us as to the fact that several of the 9/11 hijackers stayed here before
the attacks. I guess the budget hotels don't employ that technology.
posted by
Andy Loughlin
7:39am
April 18, 2004
Friends in the Department
I know that only a few readers of this 'blog will recognize the
accompanying photos but, oh well. This will be brief, please hang in
there! I recently spoke to an old friend that is still in
the Bay Shore Fire
Department. During our conversation he mentioned that he had
a call near my old house in Bay Shore, NY. "Ya know, ovadere by the
Peter Pan Dinah." Evidently
there was an MVA (fd talk for motor vehicle accident) at the corner of Howells
Rd. and Ackerson Blvd. Anyone from the area, may recognize the indoor
tennis club building, near the car wash. That car wash has been there since
I was born I think. I don't think I remember anything else
ever being there. The same holds true for other photo, where the Delicatessen
I've been to so many times is visible. You can also see that the
accident ended up in the parking lot to what was the old Power Test
gas station. I understand that it goes by another name these days.
I got many a fill-up there. Actually, I rarely filled up back then,
usually didn't have the money. I can remember getting as little as $2
worth. I see they are still offering full service too. I can remember
the single digit temperatures, and those guys out there pumping gas (ouch!).
There was a time I thought about joining the BSFD, but
I realized that my motivation was to join all the parties they were
having. I was already going to most of them already, without the midnight
fire calls.
posted by
Andy Loughlin
7:29pm
|
 |
| Fire crew works the accident. Across
the street is the car wash and tennis club
building. |
 |
| In the background you can see the deli.
The accident ended up at the old Power Test station at Howells
& Ackerson. |
|
|
|
|
|
The Wild West Still Likes to Bear Arms
The registered political make up of Nevada is fairly evenly divided.
Although I can say that from January to March, there were about
10,000
new democrats registered in Clark County (Las Vegas), compared
to about 3,000 Republicans. Still, it is very close with the Democrats
with a slight lead. The State of Nevada, mirrors Clark County, however, the
republicans have the slight lead. Having lived in an area of Southern California,
that was largely conservative, it was a big change when I moved to the Bay
Area where the political currents are decidedly to the left. Where
I live now in, Las Vegas it seems to be a equal mix. If you are an
old timer good chances you fall to the Republican Party, and many of the
newcomers, seem to gravitate to Democrat side. So I guess it is really no
big surprise to find that the
NRA
attended the Nevada Democratic Convention at the Riviera yesterday.
This is a 2nd Amendment friendly state, and the Party is smart enough
not to lose votes just because some members want to keep their guns.
posted by
Andy Loughlin
10:10am |
 |
Steve Spindel signs up to join the
National Rifle Association at the
Nevada Democratic Convention on
Saturday at the Riviera.
Photo by Cariño Casas. |
April 16, 2004
Chicken Porn
"Well they're draggin' the river.... could not find your body on the
bottom..." ooops. Just a tune I'm working on. Send me an
email and I'll try to send an Mp3. On the subject of the "off
beat," it seems Burger King is trying to pull their sales out of the
cellar with an out of the box idea. The
Subservient Chicken,
is the company's way of drawing attention to their TenderCrisp fried chicken
sandwich. It's actually very funny. This is a web based promotion,
as much as a TV campaign, and it might prove a bit risky, but I think it
will be effective to attracting the younger audience. The
www.subservientchicken.com
site has had over 46 million hits already. This site gives you the ability
to boss the chicken around. Just type in your command, and the chicken
follows your orders (400 in all). You can have the chicken "your way." The
chicken, dressed in nothing but a garter belt, will play baseball, and peck,
but I also had him flying, running, throwing the sofa pillows around, reading
a book, watching TV, and trying to lay an egg! See what you can get
him to do. The setting is a cheesy apartment, reminiscent of a grainy
web cam, or porn movie (like I would even know what that would look like).
This makes for a very sticky site (sorry, couldn't resist). What it
will do for BK sales has yet to be seen.
posted by
Andy Loughlin
9:03pm
April 15, 2004
I Check
The RJ printed an article about
the
popularity
of Poker. Didn't we all know this already? This isn't even good
soft news. I guess, since the World Series of Poker is just a few weeks
away, the RJ thought it would be a good idea to promote the event further
in Las Vegas. Who knows. I've been a very casual online player
of Texas Holdem' for about three years now. It's a fun game, and it takes
the ability to quickly multi task effectively to be successful. There was
a time when I thought drinking a beer and using the bathroom at the same
time was multi tasking but that's for another post. There's the aspect
of watching the cards, and being aware of what's been played, but then there's
the interaction with other players, and trying to read their bluffs, or non
bluffs. This is something you obviously don't get in online play, and
is one reason why I haven't mustered the courage to play in a casino yet.
I will eventually. With the popularity, there's no shortage of online
resources to the game. Love and Casino
War has a long list of Poker Bloggers. One useful link on this
site is Robert's Rules
of Poker, and if you ever wanted to know why the King of Hearts is alone
in not having a moustache
Playing Card
Trivia is the place.
posted by
Andy Loughlin
7:45am
April 14, 2004
Build it and they Will Come... not necessarily
There are many small businesses opening up all around Las Vegas.
Businesses of all kinds, restaurants, beauty salons, etc., oh
yea, and service oriented businesses of all kinds. In my work, this
kind of growth is generally a good thing. It can also be frustrating
thing at the same time. Why is it, when someone opens up a business,
the very last consideration they make is to marketing? It seems that
the "if you build it, they will come" thinking takes over. Many times
serious thought has gone into every other detail, as well as serious investment
and yet, when you ask them what type of marketing plan they have, they just
return a blank stare. The typical response is "well we just opened,
so there's no budget for any kind of advertising." Being in the business
now for almost 15 years (yikes!), I realize the possibility that this person
isn't in the mood to be "sold" anything, so this may just be a smoke screen
to make me go away. That's ok, I expect it. I can usually turn
the conversation around, by demonstrating that I am interested in what their
marketing plans are, whether or not they use my services. This typically
separates the serious, more experienced entrepreneur from the amateurs.
The majority of the time, you will get the blank stare again. Then
of course there's the people that just don't believe in advertising, except
of course when the business fails, then they are most willing to place an
ad to sell their business and assets. Each business is different, and each
should take careful consideration as to how unique their product or service
is, and create a creative plan to tell the consumers in their market about
it. I don't expect every business to take the same marketing
path, nor do I expect them all to use my services. I just can't understand
when a person invests so tremendously in the best products and/or services
for their new company, yet leaves out such an important part of the business
plan infrastructure. Especially in a market where there are some
5,000 people moving in every month. All these new residents are consumers
that need the products and services these businesses offer, and have
no idea where to get them in most cases. Oh well, time to go to work.
posted by
Andy Loughlin
7:55am
April 13, 2004
$3 Million a Day
That's the estimated loss The Bellagio is experiencing during the
power
outage. Still, there is no known reason for the outage. The latest
is that there may have been some water that entered the underground trench,
or that some animals may have gotten in there. No conclusion yet.
posted by
Andy Loughlin
7:46pm
400 mph, only 1,000 ft. High
I saw the Air Force Thunderbirds do a a
flyover
the Las vegas Strip this afternoon. Always impressive. Since
they are stationed out of Nellis Air Force Base, I get to see them somewhat
regularly, but now they are starting their world tour, so I guess this will
be it for a while.
posted by
Andy Loughlin
7:37pm
Big $$ in Vegas Retail
The Venetian just recently closed a deal that would sell the Grand Canal
Shoppes in the hotel for about
1.5
billion dollars. This would include retail space at a new planned
resort called Palazzo, to open around 2006 sometime. The Palazzo would be
located at the now vacant lot just north of the Venetian. This move
shows how strong business in Vegas is right now. In this area of the Strip,
there will be a hub of retail shopping, with Caesars Forum Shops, and the
Fashion Show stores right in the same vicinity. If you have ever visited
these stores, then you know how unique, diverse and sometimes
extravagant the stores can be.
posted by
Andy Loughlin
7:41am |
 |
Shoppers wander the Grand Canal Shoppes
at The Venetian in February.General Growth Properties will reportedly pay
$1.5 billion
for the mall and space in the planned Palazzo resort. Photo by John
Gurzinski. |
April 12, 2004
Putting it All on Red
Ashley
Revell's wager almost never took place. The Hard Rock Hotel turned
him down at the last minute, so the Plaza Hotel in downtown finally managed
to appease the Nevada Gaming Commission to allow the bet, and the broadcast.
Revell sold all of his possessions including his clothes (minus a backup
pair of pants, and a pair of underwear). He then put all his money
($135,500) and put it on red, of the roulette wheel. The wheel turned,
the ball was dropped and it stopped on Red 7. He doubled his money.
I want to know how he planned on getting back to his hometown in England,
had he lost. Now his plan is to enter the World Series of Poker at
Binions next month. Odds are much better at the poker tables, but I
think he's pushing his luck. Good time to walk away.
posted by
Andy Loughlin
7:06am
Ocean's Eleven
How many times did these two words come to mind yesterday when
The
Bellagio lost all power. No one is sure why, and they are hoping
to get power back up by tonight sometime. It was strange to see a hotel of
that size completely dark in the middle of the Strip.
posted by
Andy Loughlin
7:12am
April 11, 2004
Lucky Aces
This weekend we visited the Orleans Hotel, and Arizona Charlie's. The luck
was with me this time. At The Orleans I hit a Royal Flush, and 4 aces
with a deuce. Total take was about $700. For the record, I started out with
$10. Not bad.
At Arizona Charlie's I got a shirt. Better than losing your shirt.
posted by
Andy Loughlin
5:48pm |
 |
 |
 |
Camera in the Sky
Brother R. took the early Easter morning to fly his plane over one of my
old home towns. This is Santa Clarita Valley, CA from above. It's
not unusual to have an early morning fog. Actually it's part
of the marine layer that pushes in from the ocean this time of year, also
known as June Gloom. (I know, it's early). Maybe we'll get some aerial
shots of Las Vegas soon!
posted by
Andy Loughlin
6:09pm |
April 9, 2004
No More Words?
I know I listen too much to the news media. Actually this entry
should start out... "you know you listen or watch too much of the news
media when..." Lately the media has started irritating me in ways
I would normally not even take notice. With the recent increase in
fighting in Iraq, the media has once again chosen to go to the well of cookie
cutter descriptions of the fighting. What's with the the word fierce?
Since the beginning of this round in Iraq, every gun battle or fire
fight seems to be described as a "fierce fire fight." I have no doubt that
it is fierce. I am saddened every time I hear the news of such a clash.
What is wrong with describing the battle with another word like relentless,
awful, or brutal? I know, they are going for the alliteration,
but for every media outlet to to this is ridiculous. The thesaurus
has about 50 words for "fierce." Maybe they could find another
alliteration, if that is what they think the people tuned in for. Well
that's all for now, I have to go tune in for the latest
war alliteration. From the best boring blog in Begas.... bye
bye.
posted by
Andy Loughlin
7:33am
April 8, 2004
Abysmal
Well the people finally voted off the right person on American Idol
last night. All singers, with the exception of maybe three or four
were, let's see.... ABYSMAL! Of the three or four who
performed better only two really shined. Part of this is due to the
material. Weather you are an Elton John fan or not, you have to respect
the range his voice has. Playing in bands over the years, I can tell
you that very rarely did I hear anyone cover an Elton John song, and even
then it wasn't a memorable rendition. I don't think it was unfair to ask
the singers to sing Elton John material, in fact these songs separated the
good singers from the weaker untrained singers. Believe it or not,
I'm a fan of John Stephens, even though he was awful for the past two weeks.
I joked with A., that they didn't vote him off because they couldn't
bare to hear him sing Crocodile Rock again. He needs to mature on several
levels, but I think his talent will come through over time. We'll see. Also,
is it just me, or are there other people having a hard time figuring out
what Paula Abdul is trying to say in her critiques? This year she seems worse
than ever (another indication of the overall weaker talent this
season). She tries so hard to sugar coat a bad performance, she ends
up talking nonsense. Just Abysmal.
posted by
Andy Loughlin
7:20am
Heeeeeere's Condi
It's the Condi Rice show today. This will keep talk radio shows, on
both sides busy today. Should make for interesting drive time.
posted by
Andy Loughlin
7:15am
April 7, 2004
Need a Job?
I have friends in California still asking me, why did I move to Las Vegas.
I tell them for starters that my wife wanted to be closer to her new
grandson in Southern California. The usual response to this is "then
why not move back to L.A.?" the answer is simple. I did L.A. already.
I liked L.A., it was ok. I wanted something new, Las Vegas is just
that. I wanted a place to buy a home I could afford. Las Vegas
did that. I wanted a place that has a robust economy for growth
of my own business, as well as to find gainful employment. Las Vegas
offers that. Many people are moving here, from New York and California,
and many places in between. They move here for the same reasons.
Opportunity
is here. (just gotta get past the heat!)
posted by
Andy Loughlin
7:44am
April 6, 2004
The Agency has no Reason to be Nervous
Bob Dylan is the latest rock n roll legend to sell out to the Ad Man.
"Angels with
Dylan" has one of rock n roll's most infamous stars selling Sex
Gear for Victoria's Secret. I enjoy some of the commercials
with '70's and '80's music. It's an obvious gimmick added as a focal point
to attract the advertiser's target demographic. It works to some degree
with certain artists, and it's entertaining to a degree. It doesn't work
with rock legends though. Bob Dylan's history in rock is somehow
trivialized in this spot. It just doesn't work. Kinda leaves you with
the Tombstone Blues.
posted by
Andy Loughlin
9:53pm
April 5, 2004
River Run
The 22nd annual Laughlin River
Run is this month. I'm not even close to being a biker, but the
whole town of Laughlin, NV is a lot of fun during this rally.
I especially like to go to
Oatman, AZ
while staying in Laughlin. This ghost town is as close to the real thing
that you can get without being in a completely abandoned town in ruins.
I know, abandoned and in ruins is what makes a ghost town, a
ghost town right? Right. Bodie,
CA comes to mind. An excellent place to visit. This truely is a
ghost town, and worth the drive way off the main road. But if you want
a cold one then you are way out of luck. Oatman, however; is a ghost
town that has inhabitants. The people of Oatman thrive on
visitors to shop, eat and drink at this one road town on Route
66. Don't get the idea that this town is a make-believe tourist trap,
that has little or nothing authentic. All the structures in Oatman
are original, and they look it. Dating back to the late 1800's
to the 1930's, one could visit the Oatman Hotel, where
Clark Gable and Carole
Lombard honeymooned. Gable liked to get away from the Hollywood crowd
and play poker with the local silver miners here. There are mine shafts
still very visible from the street, and then there's the burros. Descendants
of the burros left behind by the original miners many years before,
these wild burros freely roam the town. In fact, one would think they
run the town. This town has character. I look forward to taking
time to relax there, probably right before the River Run. I'll let the
wife shop, while I sit in the saloon, and visit with locals, maybe
even eat some local barbecue while sensing all the excitement in
anticipation of the Rally. I hope it's not too hot.
posted by
Andy Loughlin
9:16pm
The Final One
Man, did I ever mess up
my brackets
this year for March Madness (not sure if the link will work, but take my
word for it). I actually came very close to picking UConn to go to
the finals, but ended the lone person in my group picking Duke
instead. Well, they made it to the final four anyway. I'm looking
forward to Fantasy Football already. Not that I'm hoping the summer
months go fast, I just enjoyed last year so much, and I will be much
better prepared for my second year in the FF leagues.
posted by
Andy Loughlin
8:07pm
April 4, 2004
Sports Talk
The talk once again is floating around about Las Vegas attracting a Major
League Baseball franchise, most notably, the Montreal Expos. I think
it's a long shot, but I have heard some good arguments supporting why it
would be a success. First, the Expos are already packed and ready to go
(anywhere). Also, there's an argument that with all the transplanted Californians
here, a National League team would certainly get the support of the many
Dodger fans that have moved here from L.A. In addition, with inter-league
play, the transplanted New Yorkers could still get a chance to see their
beloved Yankees play. With interested investors such as Caesars in
the mix, one would think this talk is serious. Simply put, this means that
money isn't an
issue. Caesar's
plan is to convert property behind Bally's to build a $400 million dollar
park, so the games would be easily accessible to the tourist traffic as well.
Maybe they will put built-in poker machines in the box seats, and Black
Jack tables by the concessions.
On the subject of professional sports, since the 49ers appear to
be trying kill the franchise in the off season, the Oakland Raiders have
been making some moves of interest.
KNBR radio in San
Francisco had a call in from Dana Stubblefield recently to discuss Ted
Washington signing with the Raiders and now, Warren Sapp. What will
happen to Dana Stubblefield?
Click here for
his response the Sapp signing.
posted by
Andy Loughlin
8:52am
April 2, 2004
It's Friday!
Have a Blogger Lager.
posted by
Andy Loughlin
9:44pm
My Wife, the High Roller
Wife, A., has taken on the job of driving her mom around town until after
her cataract surgery, when she should be able to resume driving again herself.
This means that in between trips to the grocery store, bank, etc.,
there is usually a stop at a local casino. My wife is generally
careful with what she is prepared to lose in these places, but lately she's
been on a bit of a streak. I say this at the risk of jinxing her good
luck, but I thought it was worth the mention. Last week, all told,
she came out ahead just over $500., and just yesterday she hit a Royal Flush
(diamonds, held 2 cards, drew the other 3) on a poker machine and
won a cool $800., (at a penny machine no less, that's 80,000 pennies)
which put her up over a thousand for the day with her other previous smaller
winnings. She is good about walking away, and after lunch and a little
shopping she still ended up depositing over $800. in the bank (hello IRS).
Of course I tell her not to expect this to last, I just figure it's
a little beginners luck still at this point. Enjoy the ride while it
lasts.
posted by
Andy Loughlin
7:52am
April 1, 2004
Questionable Advertising Practice?
"What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas," that's the current nationwide
ad campaign put on by the City of Las Vegas. It seems harmless enough,
right? Of course, you may not like it. I happen to think that
it's telling people that whatever you do here, you'll probably be too ashamed
to tell anyone else, then again, that's the appeal I suppose. My opinion
on advertising in this town has to do more with the
outdoor
advertising. The night clubs and especially "gentlemens" clubs have really
been pushing the limit lately. Something the city council is taking
a hard look at is developing an ordinance to prohibit billboards and other
outdoor signage that are too suggestive or racy, even by Vegas standards.
Don't get me wrong, I really don't mind the signs too much myself, but
as I have gotten older I think of my six year old daughter who can see
them as well. Fortunately, we don't go down to the strip all that
often, and I know ways to avoid most of the signs (unless of course
there's a cab in front of you that has 5 naked butts printed on a tailgate
sign, oh well). There is a more serious side
to this though. These signs have come to a point that they
are causing a traffic hazard. A new sign will go up, and everyone is doing
double and triple takes to see if what they saw is really what they saw.
There have been several documented traffic accidents as a result of
some of these signs. The suggestive ads are not new to Vegas, but if we are
going to start to mame or kill each other because we can't keep
our eyes off the signs, then something should be done.
In a town where the "anything goes" mentality seems to be the norm, advertising
agencies are very adept at pushing the envelope, which brings me to another
example. Love and Casino War has
posted a news article about
Isleta
Casino Resort. This Indian casino in New Mexico lacks the marketing savvy
of the big casinos, and just went too far. (OK, I'll say it. They're
marketing dept. was stupid). Evidently this casino had to pull a TV
spot that was promoting gambling as a good thing for people that were short
on cash or deeply in debt. I guess the idea of responsible advertising
has gone away a long time ago, but this is just a bad idea. I
still like the beer commercials though.
posted by
Andy Loughlin
7:36am
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