Alberta town wants you to know: 'There are a number of things to do in Okotoks'
It's not easy to come up with a slogan for your town. It has to be original, catchy, memorable, inviting, concise, and reflective of the community. Or "on-brand" as people apparently say.
Coming up with a catchy slogan is not easy. For every successful one, like "I Love NY", there's a slogan that doesn't quite hit the mark. La Crosse, Kansas, is probably a wonderful place, but calling yourself the "Barbed Wire Capital of the World" doesn't entice one to visit. Or there are the slogans that aim for clever and end up too clever by half; like the slogan for Timewell, Illinois: "Time spent in Timewell is time well spent."
Lately, there's been a lot of fuss on social media about the new tourism campaign in Okotoks, Alta. The town sits about 18 kilometres south of Calgary. And to attract Calgarians, the folks from Okotoks put ads on Calgary transit vehicles. Recently, someone took a picture of one of those ads and posted it to social media. There was the stylish Okotoks logo -- and above it, a slogan: "There are a number of things to do in Okotoks."
But Okotoks' manager of economic development, Shane Olson, says the photo doesn't give a full picture of the town's tourism campaign, or its pithy slogan writers. Have a listen to how he explained it to David Gray, host of CBC Calgary's Eyeopener.
Really, though, "There are a number of things to do in Okotoks" can't be the silliest slogan, or slogan mishap, out there. If you've seen worse, or weirder, tell us about it in the comments below; tweet @cbcasithappens; email is aih@cbc.ca. You can call our Talkback line at 416-205-5687. Photos, of course, are welcomed and encouraged.
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