Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Taylor Hicks ~~ PSA for Alabama Tourism



Taylor Hicks worked on the beach today as he shot a PSA for Alabama Tourism.

Alabama Department of Tourism announced recently that it will refocus its efforts from the beach to other attractions and destinations around the state. They also said expect to see new faces in their ads, like American Idol Taylor Hicks, who called them and volunteered to help.

Taylor was there today and tweeted pictures of the shoot.

The Montgomery Bureau reported on June 6th:

“Alabama tourism officials have launched a campaign to remind tourists of the state's many attractions along the coast and elsewhere. The department has a $15 million grant from BP for a campaign that will include advertising, commercials, media visits and social media use. About $1.5 million of the grant will go to special events and tourist attractions in Baldwin and Mobile counties.

“ Sentell, [Lee Sentell, Travel and Tourism Director] said the campaign's goal is to help combat a drop in tourist travel to the Gulf and in communities that depend on the seafood industry.

“The idea is to allow these attractions to have a surge in marketing funds in what should be their peak tourist season,” Sentell said.

“…the BP money cannot take away the oil spill's impact, but it can help provide alternative ways for hardest-hit communities to weather the worst.”

A national news team was in Gulf Shores, AL, today with pictures of the oil deposits on the beach. People from the area were there too with their own clean up efforts.

It was reminiscent of the people of Nashville after the devastating floods hit only a few days after the massive BP oil rig explosion and oil spill. Overshadowed by the news of the oil spill, Nashville received little national attention and began its own campaign to deal with the devastation.

They took care of things.

People along the Gulf Coast are, in many cases, taking care of things themselves.

Today, Alabama set about to do that with the help of a native son, Taylor Hicks…

…an “American Idol” in the best sense of the title.




Photos: From TaylorRHicks on twitter.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I do so hope these ads from Alabama, Mississippi , Louisiana, etc. work their magic and bring tourists to those areas this summer. While the beach is a huge part of many people's summer vacation, there are so many other things to see in these great states.

It is heartening to see the locals working together in cleaning up the oil spill around the beaches and it will be even more beneficial when BP sends the money to aid in the restoration of the precious commodities that so influence the economic stability of these states.

Kudos to Taylor and all the other notables who offer their time, their money and their celebrity in supporting these efforts.

cath

juliegr said...

I remember Taylor's calling out the National news media lack of coverage of the impact the oil spill was having on the Gulf states. Taylor witnessed the problem in early May and Tweeted to his followers.

Too bad the news media and politicians turned a blind eye until the problem has reached epic levels.

I'm glad to see Taylor helping out the working people in the Gulf states by making the radio spots for Alabama Tourism.

san said...

The diaster continues to worsen with no end in sight. It is truly heartbreaking.

Thanks for reading and commenting. I wish Taylor could schedule a concert on the Gulf Coast and I could go and support tourism there!