marketing:

New ‘What happens here, stays here’ ads hit airwaves

After a two-year hiatus, the highly touted “What Happens Here, Stays Here” ad series is being relaunched to promote Las Vegas.

Hip Hop

What's happening?

VEGAS INC coverage

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority began rolling out two new “What happens here, stays here” television advertisements this week, investing between $10 million and $15 million in network and cable media buys.

The “What happens here” TV ads, the centerpiece of one of the world’s most successful destination marketing campaigns, went on a two-year hiatus during the peak of the recession while the LVCVA focused on more aggressive campaigns instead of using the less direct brand-building spots.

One of the new ads launches a parallel “What happens here” campaign that will encourage people to share their adventures in Las Vegas on social media while reminding them to “know the code” by preserving the “What happens here, stays here” mantra.

The first “know the code” spot, titled “What’s happening?” uses subtle Las Vegas product placement techniques while showing a visitor shunned by friends for sharing too much about their Las Vegas adventures.

The parallel campaign incorporates an interactive Internet microsite that enables visitors to report people who break the “What happens here, stays here” code of silence and get a certificate for knowing the code.

The other spot, titled “Hip Hop,” is a more conventional “What happens here” ad with a blend of storyline and humor.

The new spots began airing on 15 cable networks, including three ESPN channels, Food, Travel Channel, Bravo, TBS and Comedy Central, as well as in the top Las Vegas markets of Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, Denver, San Francisco and Dallas.

The “What happens here” slogan, created by R&R Partners, the LVCVA’s longtime advertising and marketing consultant, is among those in the running for inclusion on the Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame. The slogan is among 20 under consideration in a BuzzFeed.com popularity contest that ends Sept. 30.

The LVCVA opted two years ago to temporarily discontinue production of “What happens here” ads and focus on other campaigns to aggressively boost visitation while the economy was slumping. The other campaigns have been targeted campaigns, like the summer’s “Life is short, summer’s shorter” campaign to persuade people to book an immediate trip to Las Vegas.

During the two-year hiatus, visitation has improved, with 17 consecutive months of increased visitation over the previous year. Between January and July, occupancy rates have been up 6.2 percent, the average daily room rate has climbed 10.1 percent, convention attendance is up 4.4 percent and gaming revenue is up 5.4 percent.

Other “What happens here” ads are in the production pipeline with one featuring Cee Lo Green from “The Voice” due to air in the next few months.

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