The Las Vegas Convention and Visitor's Authority, the organization charged with promoting tourism to the area, is moving on from the now infamous slogan, "What Happens Here, Stays Here", and is launching a new slogan and supporting campaign.
The original slogan, launched in 2003 with the help of its long-time agency R&R Partners, positioned Las Vegas as the epicenter of freedom and a welcomed (and private, if necessary) escape from the humdrum of adult life. Over the years since its launch, few marketing taglines have become more accepted, revered and woven into the thread of our culture than What Happens Here, Stays Here. As consumers we all understood exactly what it meant, which as marketers, is like catching lightening in a bottle.
The campaign, though iterative through the years, stood the test of time (and the test of Great Recession), but now, recognizing the increasingly shareable ways in which so many live their lives, the LVCVA is moving on to new iteration which both reflects current consumer behaviors and stays true to itself.
Welcome "What Happens Here, Only Happens Here"
The tip of this new spear, the campaign's first commercial aptly aligning the musical residencies, aired last week during the Grammy's, though expanded activations were scrapped due to the Kobe Bryant news. In another momentous occasion for the brand, we'll see their first-ever Super Bowl appearance, though in the Pre-Game, as Las Vegas advertisers have previously been famously excluded from NFL broadcasts.
As an R&R Partners alum, I'm thrilled to see the evolution of such an iconic campaign. We know how difficult it can be to simultaneously serve your customers/audiences while also serving your own brand, and I think Las Vegas has always struck that balance successfully and deliberately. I'm excited to see how it all rolls out and to cheer on the next chapter of moments that, really, nowhere but Las Vegas can deliver.
Cheers!