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    The Lookout

    Marketing America: The ‘United States of Awesome Possibilities’

    Say hello to the "United States of Awesome Possibilities."

    That's the tagline for a new ad campaign designed to promote the U.S. of A., an effort to boost business and leisure travel in order to spur economic growth, Advertising Age reports.

    The campaign, set to launch next year, is the brainchild of the Corporation for Travel Promotion (CTP), a private-public partnership formed to encourage tourism, with a marketing budget of $200 million. The corporation calls the push "the first-ever coordinated global marketing effort dedicated to welcoming international travelers to the United States."

    The group said in a press release that the dots in the campaign's logo, shown above, create a "21st-century brand" which "symboliz[es] the boundless possibilities of the U.S.," as well as representing America's "diversity."

    The campaign also features a website that gives foreign travellers some useful tips about American life and culture.

    For instance, it warns: "Health care is superior in the US but it can be very expensive because there is no universal health care."

    The site also cautions that "some banking networks charge fees of $1-2 per transaction," for ATM withdrawals. (In fact, some charge $3.)

    And: "Be aware that Americans are fanatics about showering and hygiene."

    "What is so compelling about the United States is that no one thing can explain who we are as a nation," CTP's Chris Perkins said in a statement. "Each visitor and each experience helps create the fabric of American culture, and Brand USA embodies this spirit. When we launch our global marketing and advertising campaign next year, we will be able to reach audiences around the world by showcasing the best of America and spreading the message that we welcome visitors with open arms." So long as they've showered, at least.

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    • grmojo  •  Grand Rapids, United States  •  6 mths ago
      Best health care?! If I get a major illness, I'm leaving the country for treatment. Even Cuba is better than here! Around here it's about stringing you along to get the maximum dollars out of you, without curing a thing.

      The slogan should be "America: A good place to visit, but you don't really want to live here".
    • A Yahoo! User  •  6 mths ago
      Forget our awesome beaches or breathtaking mountain views, we have diverse dots...
      • Bryan 6 mths ago
        Thanks LibertyTicked, actually made me laugh out loud at my desk at work.
      • Sherbear 6 mths ago
        Bryan, glad that you're doing the same thing I'm doing - at work! :o)
      • Zoey 6 mths ago
        We are diverse. Yet, the dots are as annoying as everything! Let alone, not even the colors America ACTUALLY represent. And what we, as a Country, actually represents! o_o

        Though, I'm following, what you are saying, LibertysTicked. =)
    • Whoops  •  6 mths ago
      How lame!! This is the best line we could come up with? OMG!!
      • Hair Ball 6 mths ago
        UNITED STATES OF A-HOLES
      • A Yahoo! User 6 mths ago
        yes ... United States of Azholes indeed.
      • GregandTerri P 6 mths ago
        Well hopefully they wont ask you two to help with a new line. I love America and I am proud to live here. Maybe ppl are A-holes, as you put it, to you because you act that way. Futher more if your so miserable in America I am sure we can find another country for you to move to.
    • 99  •  6 mths ago
      Please tell me my tax dollars didn't pay for this crap.
      • JoshC 6 mths ago
        Yeah your tax dollars, my tax dollars all the unemployed tax dollars got wasted on this.
      • Raleigh 6 mths ago
        "(CTP), a private-public partnership" (That's code for tax dollars).
      • SC 6 mths ago
        Okay: Your tax dollars didn't pay for this crap. (Psst: Just wanted 99 to get a good night's sleep. So I lied.)
    • eegah87  •  6 mths ago
      United States of... Awesome? Really? lol that slogan reminds me of something that I would think sounded cool back in grade school. What age group are they trying to appeal to anyways?
      • pg 6 mths ago
        Barney Stinson
      • B-Dodgers 6 mths ago
        Wonder who's nephew did this logo/theme
      • B 6 mths ago
        United Shock n Awe
    • Jozsef  •  6 mths ago
      This is what the government can buy for $200mill? Looks like some one dropped a bag of skittles!!
      • A H 6 mths ago
        *makes new title*

        USofA: taste the tri-color rainbow!, live in the 3 divided parts! we are no longer working as a whole, we are diveded into 3 separate parts! *takes a cake of the USA and cuts it into 3 parts*
      • A Yahoo! User 6 mths ago
        Hahaha that is so funny! Love it!
      • Nathan 6 mths ago
        The government didn't buy it. You did. That's your money they spent. Not theirs.
    • a  •  York, United States  •  6 mths ago
      we used to represent the USA with red, white, and blue. now it's freaking purple.
    • pj  •  6 mths ago
      The Corporation for Travel Promotion needs to fire their ENTIRE marketing department.
    • David  •  6 mths ago
      Well ... there we go. Our problems are solved !
    • Lilion  •  6 mths ago
      Looks like a bunch of individuals milling about aimlessly.
    • Amazed 476  •  Wallingford, United States  •  6 mths ago
      $200 million more wasted.
    • rasputin  •  6 mths ago
      USA - home of marketing and branding everything and making nothing.
    • Cong  •  6 mths ago
      Seeing those dots makes me wonder if the U.S. of A is deteriorating. Look at all the scattered dots.
    • jcw  •  6 mths ago
      "Corporation for Travel Promotion (CTP), a private-public partnership formed to encourage tourism"........ Translation... a company hired by the government to try to improve America's image. Another $200,000,000 down the poop chute.
    • Dale  •  6 mths ago
      could we please get some adults to supervise the idiots that are running this country into the ground?
    • M W  •  6 mths ago
      I was thinking to myself "Could this be worse?". The answer is no...no it couldn't be.

      You put a pile of poo in a nice pretty box and give it to someone, you're still giving them a pile of poo.
    • 1stLadyENT  •  Houston, United States  •  5 mths ago
      Healthcare is superior in the U.S.??? Is this a satirical marketing scheme? I mean it says "Health care is superior in the US but it can be very expensive because there is no universal health care." ...NO UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE.

      "We're sorry sir/ma'am, but we can't give you a heart transplant because we don't take your kind of insurance. You're going to have to find a heart elsewhere."

      There is also a difference between being fanatics of showering and hygiene and being advocates and role models of showering and hygiene. If one smells like french fries and has greasy hair, that individual certainly does not represent a hygienic person.

      International travelers would much prefer that citizens of the U.S. speak with a benevolent tone, and stop speaking to "foreigners" like they are incapable of conversing in English. Most countries speak 2 or more languages, and adding English to the knowledge base shows foreigners' resilience.
    • Tax the church  •  6 mths ago
      Does that represent our crumbling infrastructure?
    • Russell  •  5 mths ago
      The "USA" logo mark is a messy abomination... recommend finding a better agency.
    • vdub  •  6 mths ago
      Dumbest idea yet!!!
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    About The Lookout

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