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OT: Midwest bands... now I understand the hurdle!


wheresgrant3

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OK... So now I'm starting to get why so many Midwest cover bands having a hard time in nightclubs, raising pay, drawing numbers... etc. You're apparently not allowed to market toward anyone under the age of 30. LOL :D Check out this ad, promoted by the North Dakota State Tourism Board for the benefit of local bars, restaurants and nightlife business establishments. It was pulled due to public outcry.

 

Clever ad... a little innuendo, and all of the farmers get their girdle in a tangle. This is as tame as a 'Got Milk' ad. Is this attitude reflective of general nightclub promotion in North Dakota?

 

0113nightlife.jpg

 

Read the article here:

http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/347040/

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The ad has been a topic of discussion for almost a week now on Facebook. Comments have ranged from "disgusting" to "what's the problem?" I'm more in the "what's the problem?" camp. I guess "Leave A Legend" could infer that the guys are about to have a great conquest in the love department. Frankly, the funniest part for me for the ad was the "Decisions" portion of the text (three girls, two guys...which girl gets left out OR will one guy end up with two?)

 

If you look at the picture without the text, it almost looks as if the girls are making fun of the guys, as if the dudes were trapped behind the glass in a bar while the ladies are walking by and already moving onto bigger, better places.

 

Obviously, it could be interpreted many different ways.

 

I have lived in North Dakota most of my life except for a few years in Florida, Wisconsin and Minnesota. For me, the ad is fairly tame, but because it is so conservative up here, I can see how it could ruffle some feathers in the older folks. People in general are resistant to change up here. The clubs I play in have a certain crowd and that crowd doesn't change overnight. To be successful (and continue to be hired back), you have to cater to that crowd. Pretty basic, right? I am not too fond of some of the music we *have* to play, but I know it's what we have to do as part of the job.

 

The mistakes a lot of new cover bands make around here is the goal of 'educating' their audience by playing a lot of obscure or way different songs than the other bands, because they are so tired of hearing the same kinds of songs for years on end. They miss the point that the people are not going to automatically want to see them for that reason. They go for completely different reasons: Does the female lead singer have a great voice, one you are going to want to listen to for hours? Is there anyone physically attractive in the band (or likes to play shirtless)? Do they have some kind of freak factor (i.e. someone really tall or looks very distinctive)? Are they playing songs you haven't heard other bands play BUT are good songs that aren't going to turn you off (that's my thing with The Cars and The Knack). And a lot of them have nothing to do with the band's music at all. They might just like the personalities or the way their logo looks or how cool the lights blink.

 

"Arrive a Guest, Leave a Legend" is catchy marketing, but I can see how in the context of this picture, it can sound tasteless. "Legend" = guys who score as much as they can, as opposed to all the other activities that are promoted with the same tagline. The ironic part to all this is that ND is probably one of the safest and most boring places in the world. Still, in this economy, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

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If it was for western N. Dakota it should have read "Arrive horny and leave even hornier". I read awhile back that there are 9 men for every women in the Williston area. Farmers are renting their livestock out by the hour.:) I also read an article saying the highest paid strippers in the US or maybe the world were working in Williston.

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OK... So now I'm starting to get why so many Midwest cover bands having a hard time in nightclubs, raising pay, drawing numbers... etc. You're apparently not allowed to market toward anyone under the age of 30. LOL
:D
Check out this ad, promoted by the North Dakota State Tourism Board for the benefit of local bars, restaurants and nightlife business establishments. It was pulled due to public outcry.


Clever ad... a little innuendo, and all of the farmers get their girdle in a tangle. This is as tame as a 'Got Milk' ad. Is this attitude reflective of general nightclub promotion in North Dakota?


0113nightlife.jpg

Read the article here:

http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/347040/

 

This is newsworthy?

 

Seriously?

 

Is ND heavily Amish or something?

 

Wow.

Exceptionally tame ad. Barely titilating at all.

A total non-issue.

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I take issue with the ad not being racey or inappropriate, but what's the point? Tourism in Fargo? Reminds me of Roger and Me where the guy's big idea to turn Flint, MI around was to promote tourism. What's the audience? Out-of-Staters or rural folks looking for a night out? How many of them are there, 50? I just don't get it, and it's not making me pack my bags for the great ND. Surely there have to be better ways to attract people to the towns.

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my problem with the ad is that they could've contracted out 3 better looking chicks from a nearby major city.... I'm not flying 2500 miles to go clubbing in Fargo for that!

 

 

LOL...pretty enough models, but they ARE a little beefier than you'd see on a tourism ad in California or Nevada, that's for sure!

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"Arrive a Guest, Leave a Legend" is catchy marketing, but I can see how in the context of this picture, it can sound tasteless. "Legend" = guys who score as much as they can, as opposed to all the other activities that are promoted with the same tagline. The ironic part to all this is that ND is probably one of the safest and most boring places in the world. Still, in this economy, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

 

 

I get where it comes across as tasteless. I'm not sure I even really get the marketing tagline...."Leave a LEGEND"? What are you supposed to do in ND that is going to make you "legendary"? With whom? The locals? It's SOUNDS catchy on the surface, but falls apart if you try to put any deeper thought into it, and the deeper thought that THIS poster implies IS a bit tasteless, IMO.

 

Personally, I'm not offended...but I'm an old jaded musician. But I can certainly see where people might think that "come to ND, bang the hell out of our women, and then leave" isn't something they want to be known for.

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If it was for western N. Dakota it should have read "Arrive horny and leave even hornier". I read awhile back that there are 9 men for every women in the Williston area. Farmers are renting their livestock out by the hour.
:)
I also read an article saying the highest paid strippers in the US or maybe the world were working in Williston.

 

I've never heard of Williston. But I can over-pay for strippers here.

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Yeah but can you pay this much.

 

 

Yes well....girls following lonely, ugly guys who make decent money is as old as...

 

...let's just say there's a reason why prostitution is legal in Nevada and is ONLY legal in counties where pretty much the only other source of income is mining....

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Even if these chicks were smokin' hot, would the ad make you want to go to Fargo? There are plenty of hot chicks and 'legendary' potential locations around the country if that's the case. And which one of you losers is going to get a smokin' hot chick, anywa....Wait a minute - is that the scandal? They put 3 mildly attractive yet chubby girls in an ad - and guys are supposed to think they'll get lucky for sure in Fargo?

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