Tourism groups denounce anti-Flint ad campaign

April 9, 2009 Written by Ian Capstick

I received a surprise call earlier today from the tourism office in Flint, MI. Matt Bach, the Public Relations Manager of the Flint Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, was asking for a quotation for a press release they wanted to issue with regards to the “This Ain’t Flint” campaign MediaStyle.ca reported on earlier this week. Here’s the joint release from the Ottawa and Flint tourism authorities:

Ottawa and Flint tourism groups denounce anti-Flint ad campaign:

Flint Area Convention & Visitors Bureau thanks Ottawa for its support

FLINT, Mich., USA, and OTTAWA, Ont., Canada – The tourism agencies for Flint, Michigan, and Ottawa, Canada, have joined together to denounce an advertising campaign by an Ottawa radio station that attempts to promote its own goals and objectives for Ottawa by unfairly chastising Flint. Using the slogan “This Ain’t Flint”, the ad campaign started in Ottawa last week on signs placed throughout the community. The campaign is the work of the advertising firm Alphabet Creative and was also featured on radio ads aired on Newcap-owned radio stations. “Included in the campaign is a Web site and video showing grainy, black and white images of Flint. Some of the information in the video was taken from the 1989 movie, “Roger & Me” by Flint-area native Michael Moore. The video then compares the Flint images to colorful photographs of Ottawa landmarks and smiling citizens. Some of the Ottawa images were taken from the official Ottawa Tourism Web site, ottawatourism.ca.” Noel Buckley, President and CEO of Ottawa Tourism, said he was made aware of the campaign today and was disappointed by it. He is asking that the ad company stop using the photos taken from his agency’s Web site. He’s also contacted officials with the Newcap radio stations to convey his concerns with this campaign. “Images of Ottawa can be downloaded by anyone from our Web site for promotional purposes,” says Mr. Buckley. “They are not intended to be used unfairly to portray other destinations and this is clearly an unfair comparison between Flint in 1989 and Ottawa today.” Jerry Preston, president of the Flint Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, said he was extremely concerned by the campaign and said it’s unjust to compare any city to Flint in 1989. “Yes, we have some issues in Flint, but we’re pulling ourselves up,” Mr. Preston said. “Our city is the midst of a revitalization from a factory town to becoming a college town. We have many positive attractions, including the Flint Cultural Center and Crossroads Village. These are all things this campaign chose to ignore. The Flint of 20 years ago is not the Flint of today and to use that for any type of comparison is grossly unfair.” Mr. Preston praised Mr. Buckley and Ottawa Tourism for their support of Flint. “We know there are good people in Ottawa and we are very impressed and grateful for their support of Flint and for their concern over this campaign,” Mr. Preston said. The campaign also is offensive to those in Canada, said Ian Capstick, owner of MediaStyle Communications in Ottawa. Capstick has criticized the campaign on his Web site, mediastyle.ca. “It’s bad communications overall. From start to finish,” Capstick said. “it’s a poorly executed campaign. It offended people in the U.S., which is Canada’s largest trading partner. You don’t want to do anything to offend your largest trading partner. I bet there are people in Flint who do business with people in Ottawa. I think it’s best not to pit one city or one country against another.” -30-

10 Comments

Posted In: Blog, Media News Tags: Alphabet Creative, Flint Tourism, Ottaw Tourism, This Aint Flint

« Previous post

Wesley Whittaker

Yeah, Ottawa. You’re not Flint. You’re older and it shows. You’re colder, which is amazing considering the fact that there is so much hot air there. You have more politicians and bureaucrats per capita, fewer bars, less beer, no coney islands and our hockey team could definitely kick the crap out of your hockey team… off the ice, I mean.

So you should like apologize for slamming Flint. We gave you your auto industry which, last time I checked gave a bunch of Canadians jobs. If it wasn’t for us, you’d all be speaking Inuit and don’t forget it, eh?
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2204287408 Matt

Fan-tastic!
Steve

Hey Wes… You are overlooking one thing. This marketing campaign was launched by a PRIVATE company and the PEOPLE of Ottawa do not stand behind it or anything it says. Not in the least. This is not a case of Ottawa and it’s citizens trashing Flint. In fact, most citizens and even the politicians around here are extremely upset with the campaign and are voicing their opinions loudly.
This is a cheap marketing ploy done by a few losers who think they can make themselves look like concerned citizens of the world while subliminally advertising their marketing company. Unfortunately, they are too dumb to understand that all they did is trash the good name of a city that went through trouble in the past while trying to make our city look good in the process. If anything, somebody should use Flint as an example of how a city can cope with an economic bust and come out of it with continued change and growth.
So, please; stop and get your facts first so you don’t look like the goofs at Alphabet Creative. If you are upset, and you very well should be, direct your anger at the ONLY people who have said anything negative about Flint. And that would be the creators of the campaign, not the citizens of Ottawa or Canada. Should we hold all the US in contempt for something done by an American Company? No!
If you are as passionate as you seem about this issue, I urge you to contact Alphabet Creative in Ottawa, and NewCap Broadcasting (owners of the 2 radio stations playing the ads; Hot 89.9 and Live 88.5) and make your voice heard. If you just want an excuse to bash Canadians, keep posting on websites and don’t bother to actually do anything besides spew as much crap as the makers of This Ain’t Flint, eh!
Pingback: On some Flint things « Patrick Hayes
Craig Molitor

This should not be an Ottawa against Flint issue and any emails poking fun at Ottawa reduce this to a child-like, he said she said conversation. This is really just one mediocre advertising agency trying to be clever. This is an agency that apparently feels their highest obligation is to themselves by showing how clever they can be.

I took a quick look at the Alphabet Creative web site; it became apparent very quickly that this is a group of people that probably think of themselves as “unique” and “different” and “quirky” and “clever.” The trouble is that they are likely about 41% less clever than they think. And more often then not marketing firms that pride themselves on being unique, different & quirky are creating marketing campaigns in order to win awards (NOT to sell a clients product…).

In their minds anyone who does not like the campaign does not “get it.” Hey guess what Alphabet Creative a lot of us do get it: the campaign is snark writ large. Snark is neither creative or clever or unique or different or quirky it is simply laziness.

I would like to propose two action items:
1) Everyone in Flint or Ottawa who disagrees with this add should call and or email the company Alphabet Creative. Do it often and compel your friends to do the same. Be adult…Be polite…But for goodness sakes take a stand and contact them. I would encourage all those who do contact the agency — to simply ask whomever they speak to or email “How does casting Flint in a negative light help Ottawa?” the contact info is below…
2) I would like to challenge Alphabet Creative to produce metrics and past examples proving the viability of this type of approach. Additionally it would be interesting to have them give an overview of the methodology they’ll be using to ascertain whether the Ottawa Ain’t Flint” campaign is resonating with whoever their audience is…

Hey Alphabet Creative You Ain’t No McMann & Tate (Us non marketer rubes can be snarky too…)

Alphabet Creative contact info:
tony@alphabetcreative.net
613.244.0858
Neal

no idea what this campaign was about. with naked baby dools all dirty like in bus shelters I thought it was against the Hustler Magazine. and they pitting a town 20 years to current Ottawa?
well there goes another point away from the retarded marketing assholes. good job on smashing your head on a rock because we’d enjoy it
Jason

You advertisers should be ashamed of yourself. What kind of advertiser would want to spend money on a radio station that rants everyday “This ain’t flint”. Correct me if i am wrong, but i dont think this money is coming out of newcaps pocket to promote this on the radio. Maybe a radio station in Flint michigan should rant “This ain’t ottawa” “This ain’t ottawa”. What will this do economically, or even help the city of ottawa.
Jason

A Canadian City talking about an American City in a negative way. You dam ottawa radio station. You have just created a negative way americans will look at canadians, because of you. Once this ad campaign hits national news in the united states on an NBC nightly news blurb or perhaps a 60 minutes interest because its not an everyday thing that radiostations all over north america are doing, people may start to develop an attitude, not meaning to, but towards canada. Thanks NewCap, i hope you advertising dollars start to sink, and your radio stations forced to sell off, because of the unavailable dollars to upkeep from advertisers.
Sam

ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!…its a freaking ad ppl!!! You americans take everything so personal…they looked at history and chose Flint of because what happened in 1989 and WE CANADIANS dont want that…its nothing negative against Flint…but hey…if you AMERICANS where to do that to us, it would be ok..HYPOCRITES!!!….and before you make any other judgment without making research go to http://www.thisaintflint.ca it explains everything.
cliff

hey Alphabet Creative ….this aint a very good ad campaign…what’s your point? ….trashing another city doesn’t make me feel proud of Ottawa or encourage me to do something like buy local or spread the word or “take the time to celebrate…” or “..focus on the positives, and get this thing moving again.” or whatever the point of the campaign is…

It would be like me telling my sister that she’s not as ugly as the girl down the street and… “that’s pretty damn good”…

It’s a weak campaign and a waste of somebody’s money….

your client should stick to developing and maintaining good radio…that’s a better way to strengthen and support their advertisers’ businesses…

…..playing stupid radio ads that go on too long makes me want to switch the station….
Joe

So that’s what those weird ass adds were. Really, if you lived in Ottawa and actually saw them, you’d have no idea. I’ve been seeing these creepy billboards with pictures of baby doll’s dragged from the garbage and the words “THIS AIN’T FLINT” posted about and found them so disconcerting that I finally decided to check them out. I was wondering to myself, “Flint? What, like the stone? No, that doesn’t make any sense. Maybe they’re referring to someone named Flint. Maybe the baby doll is named Flint. Even so, just what the hell are they advertising?” I can’t believe someone’s been paid to think of something in such poor taste.

I’d never heard about Flint before today so I guess I’ve learned something. It seems someone living there thinks he’s responsible for my not speaking “Inuit.” Come to think of it though, I’d actually rather be trilingual so it seems that the vibes of linguistic incapacity he’s emanating are not to be greeted with adulation. Still, I should point out that we’re not in fact Inuit. We are in fact snow-eating cavemen.