Virginia Tourism’s ‘Symbol of Love’ Actually Symbol of Chicago Gang

Oops. An advertisement (pictured) developed by the BCF agency of Virginia Beach for the Virginia Tourism Corp. features two hands coming together to form the shape of a heart, a playful reference to the state’s long-time slogan, “Virginia is For Lovers.” The gesture, however, is also associated with the Gangster Disciples, “one of the most violent of four African-American gangs that hang out on the south side of Chicago,” according to an FBI report. The FBI also notes: “They are known for their violence and the distribution of crack cocaine.” Apparently Virginia does not want to associate itself with gun play and illegal drugs, and thus will be removing the image from its new “Live Passionately” campaign, according to the Virginian-Pilot.

“Out of respect to those who have concerns about the use of this symbol, we will adjust the creative images in our ad campaign to eliminate any further misinterpretation of the heart/hand symbol,” said Alisa Bailey, president of the state’s tourism marketer, in an e-mail to the Virginian-Pilot. “We regret if anyone interpreted the symbol as anything other than a symbol of love, as was intended.”

Virginia joins a growing list of destinations whose tourism campaigns have misfired, including Nepal, which somehow used an image of Peru’s Machu Picchu in a poster, and Australia, which took some hits last year from Canadians and Brits for its “Where the Bloody Hell Are You?” campaign.

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