“Sunny Manitoba”, “Friendly Manitoba”, and now “Spirited Energy”. That is the new slogan designed to promote Manitoba as more then a province of harsh winters, mosquito’s, auto theft, and “friendly” people.
The goal is to create a “consistent, positive image for Manitoba that better reflects our creative edge, our quality of life and economic opportunities” said Bob Silver co-chairman of the Premier’s Economic Development Council.
It didn’t take long for people to react, the majority derided the new slogan. No one I’ve talked to out of Winnipeg has had something good to say about it, and for some reason people are already emailing the Mayor of Winnipeg despite the fact the slogan is a provincial matter. The price seems to be the hot topic, some claiming they could come up with better slogans by throwing rocks at people and using their responses. But if you look at neighboring Saskatchewan that spent $14 million for their campaign, or the city of Montreal spending $23 million, the price seems more then reasonable at $1.4 million.
Despite the negative reaction the province is standing behind the initiative. “Certainly doing nothing is not acceptable,” said Premier Gary Doer. “The business community has said that loud and clear.”
A TV ad, a website and a team of students will promote the new slogan, starting with selling the slogan to Manitobans, turning them into brand ambassadors.
The slogan doesn’t really strike me personally as the best solution for the problem. The collateral does look nice for the most part, but the TV ad’s script reads a little like a George Lucas movie, awkward. It also suffers from footage being doubled up on just to fill time. I’m hopeful phase two brings the initiative into maturity and they can make it work out.
