A new tourism slogan for Atlantic City

A new tourism slogan for Atlantic City
March 30, 2012|By Wayne Parry, Associated Press

ATLANTIC CITY - When Atlantic City rolled out its "Always Turned On" tourism slogan in 2003, critics felt it was a little, well, risque.

Nine years later, they've fixed that. The new slogan?

"Do AC!"

It's part of a $30 million casino-funded campaign to promote the nation's second-largest gambling resort through a group called the Atlantic City Alliance.

The slogan, written by an agency the alliance hired, tested well, according to Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority president Jeff Vasser. He said it should get people to consider what once was dubbed the "World's Favorite Playground."

"As long as it motivates people to visit, that's what matters," Vasser said. "It works as a platform for us to highlight different things - culinary, meetings, and things like that."

Robert Griffin, CEO of Trump Entertainment Resorts and president of the Casino Association of New Jersey, likes the campaign.

"It's a call-to-action statement, which I like," he said.

The slogan was first reported by the Press of Atlantic City, which obtained a memo circulated by Caesars Entertainment Inc., owners of four casinos here.

"Backed by a $30 million investment, 'Do AC!' will provide consumers with a comprehensive advertising campaign - television, radio, and print - that promotes all of our unique offerings," Caesars eastern-division president Don Marrandino wrote in the memo to employees.

"The new campaign launching in mid-April will encourage customers - both new and those we haven't seen in years - to visit AC," he said.

The alliance is part of Gov. Christie's plan to revive Atlantic City's struggling fortunes. The money funding the campaign used to have to be sent to the state's racetracks as compensation for not being allowed to have slot machines.

Atlantic City casino revenue has fallen from a high of $5.2 billion in 2006 to $3.3 billion last year. The resort, likely to be overtaken this year by Pennsylvania as the nation's No. 2 casino market, has since been emphasizing nongambling amenities and revenue.

I believe this was a very close winner in the selection process. 2nd place was Debby Does AC 3rd was Deepthroat AC

Quote: WongBo

"Do AC!"
It's part of a $30 million casino-funded campaign to promote the nation's second-largest gambling resort through a group called the Atlantic City Alliance.

I guess that's why these people are paid the big bucks.

PARX casino has a campaign where a patron can't find his plane tickets, because he is having so much fun he forgets that he didn't fly to Vegas. His friend reminds him that he drove there and he only lives 20 miles away.

i did not post any opinion on this, just wanting to see what others would say.
glad to see i am not the only one who thinks it is a little weak.
for $30M they should have tried a little harder

"Do AC?"

is THAT the best the PR guys can come up with?

Lame, just lame.

I just devoted five seconds of thought to it, and came up with a BETTER slogan.

"AC Doozy."

ba da bing.

Quote: MrV

Lame, just lame.

Well, they could add a picture of Edison saying "Do AC!" and snag a few history or technology geeks ;)

Quote: Nareed

Well, they could add a picture of Edison saying "Do AC!" and snag a few history or technology geeks ;)

I think that ad campaign would be a little obscure


But Edison got started only about 100 miles from Atlantic City

Quote: pacomartin

I think that ad campaign would be a little obscure

I knew you'd find or get the reference! :)

Anyway, bringing up Betamax would be a little obscure. The Edison idea would be positively opaque.

Quote:

But Edison got started only about 100 miles from Atlantic City

Vague memories that Menlo park is in New Jersey. Otherwise bringing up Edison would be too opaque.

Quote: Nareed

Well, they could add a picture of Edison saying "Do AC!" and snag a few history or technology geeks ;)

Actually, Edison was the DC man, Tesla was the AC dude.
I'm shocked I beat Paco to that one. (shocked, get it?)

"The' rel='nofollow' target='_blank'>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0lz7pKnIhA]"The Wizard of Menlo Park" by Chumbawamba.

alright, stop hijacking... :)

the slogan "do AC" is nearly worthless for drawing in new people.
aside from the casinos and the garbage strewn beach,
there is very little to DO in AC.

Quote: WongBo

alright, stop hijacking...

But it's fun!

Ok, as to your point, I don't think a slogan convinces people of anything. But a catchy one helps to keep your product or service in the minds of people. "Do AC!" does neither.

Quote: EvenBob

Actually, Edison was the DC man, Tesla was the AC dude.
I'm shocked I beat Paco to that one. (shocked, get it?)

Early DC generating plants needed to be within about 1.5 miles of the farthest customer to avoid excessively large and expensive conductors.

Edison secretly paid Harold P. Brown to build the first electric chair for the state of New York to promote the idea that alternating current was deadlier than DC. When the chair was first used, on August 6, 1890, the technicians on hand misjudged the voltage needed to kill the condemned prisoner. The initial jolt of electricity were not enough to kill the condemned man, and only left him badly injured. The procedure had to be repeated and a reporter on hand described it as "an awful spectacle, far worse than hanging."

Quote: pacomartin

Edison secretly paid Harold P. Brown to build the first electric chair for the state of New York to promote the idea that alternating current was deadlier than DC.

It was meant to show the public how dangerous AC was and
to promote the safety of DC. It backfired on Edison, who was
not exactly an early supporter of PETA. He went around publicly
killing animals, like lions and bulls and elephants with AC current,
to prove its danger. Excuse my language, but in real life, Edison
was a major asshole. He was ruthless in business and nobody
liked dealing with him.

Quote: EvenBob

He went around publicly
killing animals, like lions and bulls and elephants with AC current,
to prove its danger. Excuse my language, but in real life, Edison
was a major asshole.

Indeed.

edisonian electrocution

Quote: buzzpaff

I believe this was a very close winner in the selection process. 2nd place was Debby Does AC 3rd was Deepthroat AC

Hey don't mock some thirty million dollar slogan...
Consider all those people who go to Atlantic City to gamble: they think of travel mode, travel time, hotel room costs, meal costs, table minimums, money won, money lost, free booze from pretty girls, free meals, free(?) parking .... egads, there is a lot to consider in making the decision to trek to Atlantic City.

Now as to just high on the list the city's motto will rank.... well, who knows? Maybe we should ask the slot players in Bethlehem what the AC motto means to them?

'Do AC' seems already dated. Do people still say
lets 'do lunch'? Its so 80's.

It's been just long enough for 80's to be considered retro.

Even if "Let's Do Lunch" were still some sort of "in" phrase, gamblers are the type of people who would eat lunch rather than do lunch.

Quote: Nareed

I don't think a slogan convinces people of anything. But a catchy one helps to keep your product or service in the minds of people. "Do AC!" does neither.

Atlantic City is trying to capitalize on the "What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas" slogan that actually revived Vegas in the little lull post 9/11. (I say little because it's nothing like what's going on now). That slogan was quite effective, as it convinces people to leave the local casinos that were popping up at the time and go to Vegas. Even current ads still focus on the party atmosphere, and the near-Bacchus life you can have while in Sin City.

One problem is Atlantic City's tourism board views one of its main competitors AS Las Vegas. At one time, that was true, when those were the two options for casino gambling. Clearly, the competition is Pennsylvania, so the "Do AC!" slogan is designed to lure people from those casinos and give them more in AC. However, as a couple other potsters have pointed out, the PA casinos can easily counter that. They are very spread out and most of them offer other things to besides gambling.

I've been racking my brain to think of a clever slogan for Atlantic City, but the only one I can think of is a picture of a wormhole with dinosaurs, dodo birds and rotary dial telephones and the slogan, "Get here before its gone!"

Quote: Tiltpoul

Atlantic City is trying to capitalize on the "What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas" slogan that actually revived Vegas in the little lull post 9/11. (I say little because it's nothing like what's going on now). That slogan was quite effective, as it convinces people to leave the local casinos that were popping up at the time and go to Vegas. Even current ads still focus on the party atmosphere, and the near-Bacchus life you can have while in Sin City.

One problem is Atlantic City's tourism board views one of its main competitors AS Las Vegas. At one time, that was true, when those were the two options for casino gambling. Clearly, the competition is Pennsylvania, so the "Do AC!" slogan is designed to lure people from those casinos and give them more in AC. However, as a couple other potsters have pointed out, the PA casinos can easily counter that. They are very spread out and most of them offer other things to besides gambling.

I've been racking my brain to think of a clever slogan for Atlantic City, but the only one I can think of is a picture of a wormhole with dinosaurs, dodo birds and rotary dial telephones and the slogan, "Get here before its gone!"

I think it was the very clever "What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas" ads built around the slogan that helped.

How about these....

1. Atlantic City....America's Dump!

2. Atlantic City...getting hit by a Jitney is now on your Bucket List!

3. AC? Puleeeeze!

4. Atlantic City - Come for the homeless and their cats under the boardwalk but stay for the knifing!

5. Altantic City...at least it's in the same time zone as home!


(I think it's the exclamation marks that really put my ideas over the top!)

I think the "Do AC" slogan is a good one, but I don't think it's any better than "Always Turned On" or the former slogan, "Americas Playground."

However, it WILL get people talking about it, and thinking about AC.

And I think that's the point.

---

Did the "What happens in Vegas" slogan really change the way people think about Vegas? I don't think so. But it DID put Vegas on people's mind. And that in turn gets people to visit.

Goal accomplished.

Quote: DJTeddyBear

Did the "What happens in Vegas" slogan really change the way people think about Vegas? I don't think so. But it DID put Vegas on people's mind. And that in turn gets people to visit.

The point of a slogan is to have people remember it. In that sense it worked. A good slogan, too, can become popular and get used, freely, outside of advertising. The "What happens in Vegas..." slogan still gets repeated. That's how successful it was. Another successful one, a longer time ago, was Wendy's "Where's the beef?" though that was more a punchline in a commercial than a slogan (point being you can't predict how a slogan will do).

But a good slogan only gets you so far. Vegas is legendary in its own right. Atlantic City is not. Think how many movies are set in Vegas, and see how many you find set in AC. That's just one thing, of course. People can now gamble in many places in the US, yet Vegas is still very successful.

Quote: FleaStiff

... free booze from pretty girls, free meals, free(?) parking ....

And we all learned (incorrectly) as children that free parking in Atlantic City means a big pile of cash!

I could never understand why they ever changed the original slogan.

"The World's Playground"

Quote: Woldus

How about these....

1. Atlantic City....America's Dump!

2. Atlantic City...getting hit by a Jitney is now on your Bucket List!

3. AC? Puleeeeze!

4. Atlantic City - Come for the homeless and their cats under the boardwalk but stay for the knifing!

5. Altantic City...at least it's in the same time zone as home!


(I think it's the exclamation marks that really put my ideas over the top!)

I thought of another (since AC is historically runner up to Vegas).... "Atlantic City...the big deuce on the beach!"

Quote: Nareed

Well, they could add a picture of Edison saying "Do AC!" and snag a few history or technology geeks ;)

Tesla was the champion of AC. Thank goodness Tesla won that war.

"Do AC?" That's like 7.5 million per letter.

Okay, I've had my laugh for the day.

A couple of additions:

Atlantic City - featuring the loosest slots in New Jersey!

Atlantic City - the world is at your feet (Our International airport features 9 domestic flights a day to over 6 destinations from one airline!)

Atlantic City - if you don't leave your money at the casinos, leave them with the muggers, drug dealers, or prostitutes!

Atlantic City - we have a beach!

Atlantic City - See the end of the Atlantic City Expressway!

Atlantic City - It's kinda like Vegas... except disappointing.

Atlantic City - Home of Monopoly

Atlantic City - our boardwalk now has a Starbucks!

Quote: boymimbo

"Do AC?" That's like 7.5 million per letter.

Okay, I've had my laugh for the day.

A couple of additions:

Atlantic City - featuring the loosest slots in New Jersey!

Atlantic City - the world is at your feet (Our International airport features 9 domestic flights a day to over 6 destinations from one airline!)

Atlantic City - if you don't leave your money at the casinos, leave them with the muggers, drug dealers, or prostitutes!

Atlantic City - we have a beach!

Atlantic City - See the end of the Atlantic City Expressway!

Atlantic City - It's kinda like Vegas... except disappointing.

Atlantic City - Home of Monopoly

Atlantic City - our boardwalk now has a Starbucks!

Boymimbo - my favorite is "See the end of the ACE" 2nd is "Vegas but disappointing"

I might add "You bring the emphysema, we'll add the Hep-C" or "It's like Vegas, but our showgirls have balls!"

The original slogan before they cut it down read:

"Do AC! Get Here Before Its Gone!" It sounded
a little cynical, though.

Well, maybe NJ could have worked out better revenue sharing so that STATE taxation of casinos created improvements in Atlantic CITY, but there is nothing tax revenue sharing could do to bring New York gamblers past Pennsylvania casinos.

Now the various powers that be sit there thinking of days gone by and coming up with slogans as if a slogan is going to make half the gamblers in Pennsylvania trek a few hours further to get to the Atlantic City parking morass, crack house circuit and mugger haven.

The whole thing is stupid. Anybody and everybody
in PA who wanted to 'do' AC, 'did' AC long ago. Its
a waste of time and millions, we're a nation of
casinos now, the old days of it just being Vegas
and AC are long gone.

Quote: s2dbaker

Tesla was the champion of AC. Thank goodness Tesla won that war.

I know. That's what makes using Edison more effective. AC's so good he switched. But then irony is lost on most people ;)

Anyway, I guess "AC: The City That Time Forgot," didn't test very well...

Quote: EvenBob's post at 12:14pm

The original slogan before they cut it down read:

"Do AC! Get Here Before Its Gone!" It sounded a little cynical, though.

Quote: Tiltpoul's post on page two at 5:11am

I've been racking my brain to think of a clever slogan for Atlantic City, but the only one I can think of is a picture of a wormhole with dinosaurs, dodo birds and rotary dial telephones and the slogan, "Get here before its gone!"

I would love to say great minds think alike... but...

Quote: boymimbo

Atlantic City - the world is at your feet (Our International airport features 9 domestic flights a day to over 6 destinations from one airline!)

I was drinking some water when I read this and spit it out in a spit take I was laughing so hard.

Quote: boymimbo

Atlantic City - Home of Monopoly

Actually, the correct (and more esoteric slogan) reads: Atlantic City - Home of Monopoly, and 7 other casinos...

Quote: Tiltpoul

Actually, the correct (and more esoteric slogan) reads: Atlantic City - Home of Monopoly, and 7 other casinos...

Actually, in just a few hours, it's 8 other casinos...

Quote: DJTeddyBear

Actually, in just a few hours, it's 8 other casinos...

Optimistic lot ain't they?

Taglines from the 1980 film Atlantic City:

Where dreamers can be winners.

Laugh, Cry and Dream . . . [Australia Theatrical]

quote:

"Yes, it used to be beautiful - what with the rackets, whoring, guns."

Very funny stuff ( well not the part where Edison was
killing animals, I meant the AC slogans ).

So my hat's off to all the creative "Mad Men" out there.

While the cat's away . . . (Christie is in Israel and Jordan for the Pascal season):

Fight at Atlantic City's 40/40 Club injures two police officers, police dog also attacked
Posted: Sunday, April 1, 2012 11:10 am | Updated: 12:13 am, Mon Apr 2, 2012.
By LYNDA COHEN Staff Writer |

ATLANTIC CITY — Two city police officers were assaulted and a K-9 dog attacked Sunday during a fight at the 40/40 Club. Officer Brent Dooley wound up with a large gash to his head and Officer Michael Francisco was pepper-sprayed during the incident, one of six fight calls city police answered during the midnight-to-eight shift that saw 132 calls for service, Sgt. Monica McMenamin said. Francisco was working an off-duty uniform detail at the club when he called for help with a fight at about 4:20 a.m., according to the report.

Tony L. Wilson, 31, of Neptune, was being escorted from the club after refusing a security screening and attacking a guard, McMenamin said. As Francisco tried to arrest Wilson, the suspect sprayed a chemical agent into the officer’s mouth, McMenamin said. This sparked several fights that extended into the self-park ramp at Caesars garage.

During the fights, Tony M. Wilson — not the Wilson who allegedly sparked the melee — grabbed Dooley from behind in what was described as a “bear hold” while a second male, Tyree M. Wilson, struck Dooley in the back of the head with a liquor bottle causing a large open laceration to his head, according to the police report. McMenamin said it was unclear where the bottle came from, since this occurred outside of the club.

K-9 Officer Frank Timek ordered Tyree Wilson, 24, also of Neptune, to surrender so he could be handcuffed, but Wilson failed to comply and Timek’s K-9 partner, Vader, apprehended him, McMenamin said. During the apprehension, Tyree Wilson choked Vader in an attempt to break his control, the report states. . . .

Timek was also attacked earlier in the morning while working crowd control at the Quarter inside the Tropicana. Charles Johnson, 21, of Willingboro, grabbed Timek from behind just before 3 a.m., and was arrested by Officer Frankie Lane, McMenamin said. Johnson was charged with aggravated assault on a police officer and resisting arrest. Bail was set at $25,000. Two others were arrested by Officer James Karins for obstructing administration of the law and resisting arrest in what began as a domestic violence incident, according to the report. The names were not released.

Two men were also arrested at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in separate incidents there. Travis Smithpogue, 22, of Canyon Lake, Texas, was arrested after he was allegedly disruptive inside a nightclub, refused to leave and then fought officers. Brendan Stanley Burke, 25, of Rockville Center, N.Y., was arrested on possession of cocaine charges.

During the eight-hour shift, police arrested eight people from three states, McMenamin said. [liink=http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/communities/atlantic-city_pleasantville_brigantine/fight-at-atlantic-city-s-club-injures-two-police-officers/article_b2a8410c-7c0c-11e1-a6c1-0019bb2963f4.html/]acpress

AC= always classy!