Thursday, July 03, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
COLUMN: Norm!
Las Vegas ad campaign's `stays here' slogan getting around
Tennis star Serena Williams recently used a variation of a Las Vegas ad slogan to describe her experience at the French Open.
Photo by Associated Press
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"What happens here, stays here," the catchy ad campaign tag line of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, is getting around.
Tennis star Serena Williams is the latest to come up with a borrowed variation.
"Whatever happened in Paris, stays in Paris,'' said Williams, Wimbledon's top-seeded woman, referring to a bad experience in the French Open.
Williams' quote surely set off high-fiving at R&R Partners, the LVCVA's ad agency.
"It's funny, since we started using that, we've seen it in so many places," said Rob Dondero, executive vice president of R&R Partners.
The phrase surfaced one day during an R&R brainstorming session.
"We sat in a creative meeting one day, and our writers came back with four or five (ideas); this one was catchy, stays with you and a quick read," Dondero said.
"We didn't make it up, we brought it to life" from the Rat Pack era, he said.
"I think it pretty well captures the pervasive feeling people have about Las Vegas," said Erika Brandvik, manager of public relations for the LVCVA. "We wanted ads that say you can come to Las Vegas and be a different person than you are back home."
Dondero said the phrase has long-life potential and will be used again in new spots this fall. Other potential campaign material in the pipeline, he said, includes the 40th anniversary of the film "Viva Las Vegas" featuring Elvis' theme song, Las Vegas' 100th birthday in 2005 and Frank Sinatra's 90th birthday, Dec. 12, 2005.
Playboy's Vegas plans
The Palms has landed Playboy's 50th anniversary bash Sept. 19 through 21.
The weekend will include fashion shows, casting calls, a concert and a preview of Playboy art that will be offered at auction in December through Christie's in New York.
"We celebrated the opening of the Palms with an event at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles, and we've had a great relationship with Hef and Playboy ever since," said Palms president and owner George Maloof.
'Stuey' reaction
A.W. "Tony" Vidmer, writer and director of "Stuey," said he was taken aback by Madeline Ungar's reaction to the film about her husband, the three-time World Series of Poker champion.
"We have had several discussions with Madeline and (daughter) Stefanie regarding the film, and they have had the script in hand for many months. Our conversations have been amicable, and we are sincerely surprised by Madeline's vehemence now."
Madeline Ungar met with attorney Louis Palazzo last week to explore legal options.
The Scene and Heard
Breck Wall, producer and star of the long-running "Bottoms Up" show at the Flamingo, has been contacted by producers of ABC's "World News Tonight with Peter Jennings" about being interviewed for a series Jennings is doing on Jack Ruby. Wall was a close friend of the Dallas club operator, who shot Lee Harvey Oswald on live television in 1963 after the assassination of President Kennedy. ...
Calling all Rita Rudner look-alikes: The New York-New York headliner is having a look-alike contest starting at 6:30 p.m. July 11 at the Cabaret Theatre. Hopefuls should prepare for 60-second impersonations. The winner gets to live a day in Rudner's life, which probably means a lot of shopping, for her nationally syndicated daily TV show, "Ask Rita." The show will tape July 27 through 30 at the MGM Grand.
The Punch Line
"Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain." -- Lily Tomlin.
Norm Clarke can be reached at 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com.
