Virginia Tourism’s ‘Symbol of Love’ Actually Symbol of Chicago Gang
Travel Blog • Michael Yessis • 08.20.07 | 8:06 AM ET
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.
Email to friend
Twitter
del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Furl
Ma.gnolia
Mixx
Reddit
StumbleUpon
Yahoo! Buzz
Michael Yessis is the cofounder and coeditor-in-chief of World Hum.
Lisa Lusher 08.20.07 | 7:15 PM ET
I BELIEVE IT WAS AN HONEST MISTAKE. I AM FROM VA. I NO THAT VA IS FOR LOVERS!
Dianne Guiliano 10.27.07 | 3:26 PM ET
Obviously, Virginia is not for spellers!
Narconon 09.04.08 | 3:45 PM ET
How could anyone possibly think that the ad was advertising a street gang? Clearly the people putting together the advertisement knew nothing about the street gang symbol, as normal citizens don’t pay attention to such items. Who honestly cares if some gang has a symbol to represent themselves that’s similar to a heart. The ad clearly shows the message they are attempting to convey and that is “Come to Virginia. Virginia is for lovers.” Or full of heart, or full of life. The message is festive in the poster, not destructive.