Reviewing tourism ads from all 50 states

[@JJMcCullough]

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[@Ilikefire2792]

Lets be 100% fair here. The best tourism video is probably ohio's two famous cleavand tourism ads.

[@zeddyfin]

JJMcCullough@ Can you do one with countries tourism advert. The most common countries tourism advert in the United Kingdom is the advert for Turkey all the time. 🇹🇷

[@dutchvonrichardson]

Ironic though, I plan on moving to Colorado, I used to visit it a whole bunch in 2009, when I had an ex girlfriend that lived there.

[@Pasta_Pirate]

You considered doing this again for states internationally, e.g. Australia, UK, Canada etc?

[@Codec264]

Your audio seems to be clipping in this video and it was hurting my ears, I'd appreciate if you could look into fixing it

[@TierZoo]

I've never felt so betrayed by my home state. Where are the Dells? where are the Door County Cherries? WHERE IS THE CHEESE?

[@LvlGenesis]

Minnesota 🤝 Wisconsin: Not having fishing for their top tourism video.

[@houseofpibb1435]

Wasn’t expecting TierZoo to be here in the comments

[@Jabberwockybird]

🧀

[@monkeeseemonkeedoo3745]

:(

[@izzyj.1079]

Dont forget the craft breweries, brats, or the Driftless. Also, never took you for a fellow Wisconsinite

[@pk2508]

Fun fact on Rhode Island, their entire tourism board got fired in 2016 for creating a tourism video that featured shots of footage from Iceland and other states. From what I remember, absolutely nothing in the video was actually in Rhode Island and it also had a notoriously bad slogan, that slogan being “Cooler and Warmer!”

[@beccad225]

LMAOOO

[@firecracker3911]

What a waste of taxpayer dollars that was!

[@pk2508]

@@firecracker3911 I don’t think promoting tourism is a waste, just make sure your tourism board isn’t useless

[@nickbk4418]

they also spent several hundred thousand dollars on a clam statue. inside the airport.

[@pk2508]

@@nickbk4418 as a New Englander I actually think it’s pretty cool. They’re putting in giant statues of stuffies (a Rhode Island stuffed clam) at different major airports across the country to get people thinking about RI. Also their new slogan is “fun sized” which is really good in my point of view

[@conorgilles81]

My favorite activity as a tourist is to walk among trees, go to the beach, fish, and eat visually appealing food. Now I can't decide which state to visit.

[@redrave404]

This, but unironically. Guess I'm an ideal tourist.

[@timfify]

I live in Michigan. Anything along the border there isn't much difference except the beer maybe go south AZ is hot and dry TX hot and mean Fl hot and wet FL is probably the best choice@@redrave404

[@timfify]

I live in Michigan. Anything along the border there isn't much difference except the beer maybe go south AZ is hot and dry TX hot and mean Fl hot and wet FL is probably the best choice

[@gavinthecrafter]

Don’t forget looking at random brightly colored sculptures and buildings!

[@isaa7425]

States Time Stamps Alabama- 2:36 Alaska- 3:50 Arizona- 4:15 Arkansas- 5:03 California- 6:00 Colorado- 6:55 Connecticut- 7:37 Delaware- 8:24 Florida- 9:03 Georgia- 9:34 Hawaii- 10:16 Idaho- 11:08 Illinois- 11:40 Indiana- 12:01 Iowa- 12:11 Kansas- 13:13 Kentucky- 14:15 Louisiana- 14:18 Maine- 15:05 Maryland- 15:42 Massachusetts- 16:17 Michigan- 16:57 Minnesota- 17:51 Mississippi- 18:02 Missouri- 18:46 Montana- 19:19 Nebraska- 19:56 Nevada- 20:36 New Hampshire- 20:59 New Jersey- 21:09 New Mexico- 21:19 New York- 21:55 North Carolina- 22:23 North Dakota- 23:22 Ohio- 23:31 Oklahoma- 24:00 Oregon- 24:23 Pennsylvania- 25:08 Rhode Island- 25:39 South Carolina- 25:47 South Dakota- 25:54 Tennessee- 26:40 Texas- 27:00 Utah- 27:55 Vermont- 28:57 Virginia- 29:13 Washington- 29:41 no vid West Virginia- 30:19 Wisconsin- 31:04 Wyoming- 31:24

[@isaa7425]

As an American it weird this Ontario tourism commercial sticks with me kzbin.info/www/bejne/rarLdKR9mNSmY7c

[@Delightfully_Witchy]

The cost of living is so low in Kentucky for a reason. 😕

[@th.nd.r]

Thank you

[@monkeeseemonkeedoo3745]

RIP WA

[@Christ5306]

Damn, as a Kentucky born resident, this is some disrespect

[@Raugiel]

I am from Washington and I can't stop laughing about the fact that we do not have a tourism video. As long as I can remember, locals in western WA have complained that we have too many tourists and we need to put out ads discouraging people from coming here. Not having any promotional videos sort of fits that vibe. 😂

[@scotswahae4541]

Just remember the “Say WA” campaign. The shame lingers to today

[@celeste8360]

Washingtonians are saying go away by not having a video basically. 🤣I worked at Mt. Rainier and we had more ppl than we could handle so it didn't work unfortunately!

[@coryb8796]

I say we just start posting old Rainier beer ads nationally.

[@gianni206]

Lol this makes me want to actually come now

[@LuanFauth]

this makes me want to visit it haha

[@FrankGil]

Imagine being stoked to see what JJ says about your state and he completely roasts you by skipping over your state or saying, “cool, there is fishing.”

[@jimmyisawkward]

Or having no ad 😭

[@VikingNidhogg]

Get wrecked

[@thelinktothegame6081]

He literally said my state was a snooze and moved on

[@abba-Flammenfresser]

@@thelinktothegame6081 i haven’t watched it yet, I’m hoping it’s not Minnesota😥

[@christinafidance340]

I’m from Delaware so I knew it would be good (or bad, I mean!).

[@effix9097]

I live in Wisconsin and i think it’s a weird decision for them to have led our tourism representation by food, but even then, their meals didn’t even include cheese, beer, brats, cranberries, or cherries, so they basically failed to fail.

[@southcoastinventors6583]

Agreed I visited there recently and they have some great German food and dairy that is criminally left out.

[@DoABarrelRol1l]

Great bar-food, parks, and waterslides. My guess is they're trying to change their image to appeal to tourists outside of Chicago families with kids.

[@dumpsterfire3214]

i think it’s weird that they didn’t say anything about skiing even though a lot of ski resorts in wisconsin are genuinely good places to learn how to ski, and are pretty cheap compared to other places

[@TheAlexSchmidt]

Pennsylvania choosing a beach for its ad was kinda weird considering the state's only beaches are on Lake Erie yet it's not that far from the actual ocean.

[@bottomoftheglass]

There's some beaches on smaller lakes, but I agree no one really think of beach when they think PA. I would've chosen Amish country or Philly.

[@lazygongfarmer2044]

Only barely separate from the Atlantic, but separate none the less

[@eriks8726]

The Pennsylvania tourism ad actually taking place at the Jersey Shore is pretty representative though

[@polandmaster6946]

The tourism ad takes place at Presque Isle, on the shore of Lake Erie, nowhere near New Jersey.

[@LangThoughts]

I grew up in Philly, and I think an ad focusing on places like Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and then BAM! Valley Forge would be best. Really leaning into the Revolution from the man-made to the natural. Also, start playing "Yankee Doodle" in the background when you get to VF. Valley Forge would be beautiful regardless of the history.

[@mikek6298]

There's a reason Utah doesn't want to appeal to that demographic. A lot of it's national parks have been increasingly treated as spring break style destinations. It's got them really hard, as they don't have and can't really support the sort of infrastructure required to accommodate that you're of tourism while also maintaining the natural beauty and cool rock formations that make them so attractive. I'm not surprised they're aiming for the older, more international crowd.

[@U.Inferno]

Yeah. My parents live a stones throw away from Zion's and I have to say... things aren't super great for the Park and neighboring town. Not in regards to economic they have 0 issue getting people in. Yet with just how busy it is... Honestly, whenever I visit the park I use the "back door." There's many hikes there where you won't see another person. If people are visiting, I'll show them the canyon proper once, and then stick to the outskirts.

[@LeDank]

Yup, that video basically hits a perfect spot for what we’d be looking for. A solitary photographer wanting peace away from the hustle and bustle.

[@Chris_at_Home]

It’s getting to be the same in Alaska. Everything is geared for the private concessions that get contracts in the parks to get as many people as possible in the parks.

[@Jack-fw4mw]

How the heck did Kentucky mess it up? They are the Bourbon state. Home of the Kentucky Derby. These unique cultural draws should make the tourism video write itself.

[@ryang1202]

Bro I'm mad after New Mexico's cave ad we literally have the longest cave system in the world in ky

[@perrymeanspearwine]

I'm from Kentucky, and I am honestly angry. Horse Capital of the World and maker of 95% of world's Bourbon, along with having the largest peanut butter factory in the World and being the birthplace of Lincoln, and this man pretty much spits on us.

[@75aces97]

Not just that. It's got Mammoth Cave, one of the natural wonders of the world. It's got Natural Bridge. One problem Kentucky had for years was that it had a one term limit on the governor's office. That's not enough time to accomplish anything meaningful with a tourism department or public policy. It's just enough time to get into office, steal what you can, then leave.

[@Drawfield]

Most of the peanut butter is made here - jiff in Lexington and everything else is made in Louisville at allgood. I’d get skippy, Kroger, Walmart, and every other brand at family gatherings handed out by my uncle that worked there for a while.

[@doomsdayrabbit4398]

Because no one who has any filmic vision stays.

[@uoislame]

i think a big part of the "we got nature" is because most americans, despite living in states with nature don't actually experience it. texas' ad was kind strange as they showed two "iconic" texas things with cowboy stadium and the space center, but dallas and houston are like 300 miles apart. it is not something you can visit and see unless you place a roadtrip between the two.

[@Chance4]

Maybe they were trying to appeal to the Europeans who try to visit Miami, New York, and LA in a weeklong vacation in their rented car.

[@InquisitorThomas]

@@Chance4 AKA Suckers.

[@AlexADumbDumb]

//but dallas and houston are like 300 miles apart// That's true of most states though, I mean Seattle and the Yakima valley wineries are separated by a mountain range that is sometimes impassable

[@matthewrenton6998]

That's most of Texas though - everything is far apart. El Paso is a full day's drive from pretty much every major city. You don't vacation in Texas, you vacation in a particular city in Texas.

[@PockASqueeno]

That was a bit odd. As a native Texan, I’d rather have seen more about Texas’ culture. Things like the Alamo, the Texas Revolution, or simply the independent spirit of Texans.

[@jdinman84]

As someone from Seattle can I just say a video of a boring government department meeting is actually the most accurate representation of our state you could possibly get

[@CrumbsOG]

I'm from Washington, I disagree,we have such a diverse landscape, from desert in eastern Washington to some of the most beautiful forests in the country, and don't forget the big apple orchards in Wenatchee. Then there's the big city where you can tour the microsoft building, try local cuisine at the pike place market, and see the entire city from the space needle.

[@lordshr3ddr]

I also live in Seattle and came here to say this 😂 Washington state is so ridiculously bureaucratic that their lack of a tourism channel is hilariously SPOT ON.

[@TheKristina1978]

I half expected because I see Washington as that sleeper state nobody looks at, but is America’s Secret prodigy, I kinda think of it like District 2 from the Hunger Gamse series.

[@2394098234509]

Dude. The quality of your videos is so consistently high. Struggling to think of another cultural commentary content creator who's on your level right now

[@JJMcCullough]

Aw thanks so much. I try very hard.

[@grandcommander1140]

​@@JJMcCullough❤❤❤

[@maxdonaldson861]

Agreed, apart from that Tantacrul and Imparter (at least his later videos) are up there with JJ for me

[@devinmay3038]

​@JJMcCullough Hey JJ. Just wanted to let you know Steven Hillenberg, the Creator of SpongeBob is from OK. Though not a household name. His art has touched the heart of millions.

[@themanyouwanttobe]

Definitely award worthy

[@thefareplayer2254]

“Pennsylvania is a good place for slightly odd people to feel welcome” should literally be their slogan. It’s so true, in a good way.

[@ladymacbethofmtensk896]

Maybe it used to be that.

[@MrC0MPUT3R]

I'm from rural PA. I'm not sure if this is true outside Pittsburg or Philly... You've never felt judgment until you're buying vegetables from an Amish farmer. (Yes the Amish are super friendly and good people. That doesn't mean I didn't feel hella judged by them)

[@saoirse_miller]

@@MrC0MPUT3RSo true! The Amish/Mennonite secret judgement is so anxiety-inducing. Like, please let me buy some fruit and pies in peace.

[@Joe-nb3fs]

Genuinely surprised to discover PA has any beaches... and I am still not sure it does. Looking at the satellite imagery of Lake Erie coast line, I don't think it looks like that. And it can't be the DE river...

[@jimkear6749]

@@Joe-nb3fs I was stunned, Philly is near water, but miles from any actual beach beyond New Jersey and Delaware borders. Perhaps there is some lake or river with a dressed up, man-made "beach" but that should have been the focal point of the delivery. Feels like they stole B-roll from a coastal state.

[@camdensnyder8894]

As someone who lives in Nebraska, I love the whole "it's not for everyone" slogan. Like, we all know that not everyone will like visiting Nebraska. It's got a reputation as being boring, and we understand that, but if you give it a chance, it's pretty great, and certainly unique in some ways, lol

[@JacobMerrill-w9y]

Yeah, I have a lot of fun tanking with my cousins.

[@Fealuinix]

@@JacobMerrill-w9y I've lived in Nebraska 17 years, and have never even *heard* of tanking before this video. Looks fun though.

[@christopheraplin]

Nebraska is I'm sure a fine place to live and a nonsense place to visit.

[@jakej2680]

I drove through and was absolutely stunned by the sand hills area. Loved the landscape out there. That being said the 6 hours of flat land preceeding that was slightly less memorable.

[@munglu36]

Now do Canadian provinces! I recall seeing lots of Newfoundland commercials as a kid, but almost none for other provinces!

[@wasserruebenvergilbungsvirus]

He'll probably roast the hell out of Québec again... ^^ (Even though it's objectively the best and coolest province don't @ me)

[@thomaswilliams2273]

​@@wasserruebenvergilbungsvirusMy guess would be that the province with the part that's furthest north and farthest from a large body of water would be the coolest 😉.

[@rnokmh]

I don't remember ever seeing any Canadian ads but I grew up an hour from the border, we're already up to our asses with quoebecois

[@benjaminrobinson3842]

I was thinking JJ should do that before I even began watching this video.

[@stay_puft]

I see ads from Newfoundland and Yukon pop up the most on my phone.

[@anon1087]

civil war and revolutionary war museums, trails, battlefields and re enactments are actually super popular on the east coast. the fact that maryland used that as their advertisement is spot on. you'd be surprised how many people go to the east coast just for american historical monuments and war LARPs.

[@wasserruebenvergilbungsvirus]

As a European this is definitely something I would visit if I ever came to America, especially the war LARPs sound cool as hell.

[@DiamondKingStudios]

As someone from Georgia, come see where Sherman burned a bunch of stuff on his way to Savannah. Was your country ravaged by brutal war tactics in either World War? Come see where they might have got the idea!

[@onurbschrednei4569]

Yeah the Civil War tourism is absolutely bonkers on the east coast. I once saw a whole museum in Virginia dedicated to Robert E Lee's horse (!).

[@toddthacker8258]

@@onurbschrednei4569 Sounds like that wasn't aimed at the ordinary Traveler.

[@jordanbloomfield]

I was expecting crab cakes and old bay from Maryland 😂

[@robertevans3025]

As a lifelong Michigander, I can verify that yes, we do very much love the Pure Michigan ads. They show off a lot of the state, not just our famous cities.

[@UserName-ts3sp]

those cities are probably better not to show off

[@miguelrodriguez-df8ww]

@@UserName-ts3sp you'd be surprised nowadays. lived around metro detroit my whole life and the past 5-10 years have done a lot for the city itself.

[@robertevans3025]

@@miguelrodriguez-df8ww we saw a Red Wings game not that long ago and the city has come a long way indeed.

[@dubiousprime2021]

Yes, but have you seen the parodies of this. Pure gold.

[@Uiruriru]

I just love that South Dakota seems to be encouraging us to tell our dogs about them.

[@thedoomofred5174]

Are you telling me that you don’t tell your dogs about other states in other states? Do you even love your pets?

[@cuseyeti_one8three]

The dogs might care. My cat, on the other hand, is intensely disinterested.

[@Spartan_Mello]

As a Michigander, I can confirm that we love the Pure Michigan campaign as a whole. Wonderfully done at a time when Michigan really needed tourism to boost the economy, and it worked!

[@ezrac704]

It's definitely iconic, but I hear mixed opinions on it. I enjoy the memes of pure Michigan audio over footage of horrible traffic on snow-covered roads.

[@jewey1894]

I like it just bc it does embody what we have to offer. The lakes and everything Up North is what makes the state special, so why go through the BS of a montage like all the other states

[@davidthegreat4984]

as a wisconsinite whenever i see a pure Michigan i go into a primal rage.

[@gregorytillman4080]

and I do wonder if the Cider House Rules music was purposeful due to the state's big cider culture... I can't think of another reason to use that particular music

[@videocollectorguy]

When he said the land of open roads I almost spit my drink out. No way in hell these roads are ever not either being worked on or filled with potholes 🤣

[@ingobernoble2678]

I was so surprised by Maryland's ad lol. The Civil War stuff IS very popular with tourists but I thought for sure an ad for us would center around all the crab based food, the Baltimore harbor and all the water activities in the bay.

[@legallyrequired]

Me too! I was really surprised not to see Baltimore or any mention of the blue crabs

[@gravityissues5210]

Yeah, as a Marylander I'm actually pretty irate. That was some lazy-ass nonsense. But then that's the Maryland state government. I'd complain but I'm 99% sure my email would bounce, and if it didn't, I wouldn't get an answer anyway.

[@kevitamaster-brewkombucha5472]

@@gravityissues5210very true, crab is the people’s pleasure, not the governments sadly!

[@ladymacbethofmtensk896]

Virginia is for lovers. Maryland is for crabs.

[@aromanticfranziskavonkarma]

Also maybe I'm missing something but I feel like Civil War trails have to be more common than that? I know they're in Georgia because I've lived here my whole life and grew up hiking with my parents and I'd assume other states have things like that too

[@xzzoriofr7222]

As an alabamian I honestly love that the BBQ video is our most popular ad. While I dont think BBQ is exactly the most "defining" feature of the state, I think it provides a good look into the values that make an alabamian an alabamian on a personal level.

[@pragueuprising560]

I visited AL as a kid and didn't like it. I wouldn't have ever considered going back, but that video has changed my mind. It's not just the BBQ aspect (althought that is cool), it's the people... I remember Mobile as being a bit run down, and unsafe, but I also remember the people we met there were good as gold. Friendly and kind.

[@0rtu_Solis]

@@pragueuprising560If you come back, skip Mobile, it’s probably just as bad as you remember it.

[@PockASqueeno]

Barbecue defines the South in general. I honestly have no idea what makes Alabama barbecue different than any of the other southern states’ barbecue. So what is it?

[@tomatochemist]

I agree. I don’t live there now, but was born there and go back to visit family. I think the documentary format is nice.

[@zope6362]

@PockASqueeno Smoked chicken and white sauce, definitely NOT brisket.

[@bloodybaronesse]

As a non-American English teacher, I have to confess that I've used quite a few of those tourism ads and similar videos in classes. They show off nature, sometimes food, they give the kids a first impression of what's to come, but they never made me want to travel there. BTW, come to Bavaria. We have trees. And mountains. And fishing.

[@DoABarrelRol1l]

But what about hiking? Do you guys have any food? Random art sculptures? I need at least 5 of those 6 things to justify visiting = D

[@bloodybaronesse]

@@DoABarrelRol1l Alps, Alps and more Alps! :D Bavarian beer is quite famous, roasted pork knuckles, sauerkraut, veal sausages, cheese spaetzle, sweet dumplings with poopy seeds and vanilla sauce... In Kempten and Aachen you can visit ancient Roman archaeological sites, in Munich there are museums from pre-history to modern art. We've got everything!

[@DoABarrelRol1l]

@@bloodybaronesse Alright Bavarian pretzels and I'm in

[@Eirik_Bloodaxe]

@@DoABarrelRol1lI think Berlin is your place if you want random street art everywhere.

[@pdruiz2005]

@@bloodybaronesse I am shocked that you didn't bring up the one million and one palaces and castles built by Bavarian kings and other Bavarian nobility. Or your many twee medieval villages, all timber-framed and cozy, nestled in rolling hills. Or your famous Christmas markets in the middle of winter. Or your crazy rococo monasteries with the undulating, vibrant, pink-and-taffeta churches. So much to see in Bavaria! Bavaria is not your generic, boring American state like Indiana or Minnesota.

[@SemiO11]

Mississippian here, I’m so glad that our tourism department didn’t just go with fishing or landscape because that would have been so, so easy to do.

[@orotewilderness2913]

They also should have done the blues man. Delta blues are from Mississippi, also could have done stuff on elvis and rock and roll. Mississippi in my opinion is the most important state for music.

[@jackdupont1883]

Fellow Mississippian, I wish it wasn’t just about civil rights. I understand that Mississippi is known to have a dark past. But i wish they could mix that in with like the gulf coast and other tourist things while highlighting Mississippi’s fight for racial equality.

[@Wilderness-Will]

As an Arizonan, that video is TERRIBLE. We have one of the most geographically and culturally diverse states in the country. We host everything from the Sonoran Desert to ski resorts; remnants of the most intact indigenous architecture in North America to 17th century Spanish missions. Golf resorts to the Grand Canyon. That video captures almost none of what we have to offer.

[@InquisitorThomas]

I went to Arizona on vacation back when I was a kid and Sedona was such a beautiful place (and Phoenix was a hellish monument to Mankind’s hubris).

[@coh2conscript851]

​@@InquisitorThomasPhoenix is just a hivecity but built out instead of up

[@ryantannar5301]

@@InquisitorThomas in Phoenix, we fear the sun. For it is vengeful and terribly hot.

[@iamfoo1]

Phoenix is the least interesting part of the state you have it doesn't offer anything that you couldn't get in LA or San Diego, so there a reason they don't focus on it.

[@sarahereach]

Wupatki was in their video, "showing off" the indigenous architecture. Problem is you wouldn't recognize it for the amazing site it is, unless you had already been there

[@justagiraffe2868]

Ah yes, Indiana, with their state motto “The Crossroads of America”, which I read as “everyone drives through us to get somewhere better”

[@mcfarofinha134]

yeah, it's just a place I stop to buy smokes and take a leak on the way to chicago. Either that or somewhere the amtrack always inexplicably gets stupid late in

[@SamAronow]

I like Indianapolis. Could be better. Get a tram system- a _system,_ not just a cute little figure-8 downtown that looks cute but doesn't move people. Don't be like Atlanta.

[@RunstarHomer]

That's hilarious! As a Michigander, I've been in Indiana many times, on my way to Chicago.

[@EnigmaticLucas]

As a Kentuckian who now lives in Indiana, I feel like that actually gives it cultural relevancy. A lot of sitcoms are set in Indiana because its “plainness” means that it’s relatable to any American rather than just those from certain areas.

[@RetroTown]

With a state motto like that, the obvious tourism marketing slogan has to be "All roads lead to Indiana"

[@fdr45]

As a West Virginian, Country Roads is basically just a fact of the state, you'll see businesses everywhere reference it, along with the New River Gorge, you'll be hard pressed to find places in the state not referencing it. At West Virginia University, we sing the song to welcome every new class, at every game, no matter the sport, and just because on the regular. Country Roads really do take you home

[@jakespinella8161]

Isn't that song not about West Virginia at all tho???

[@fdr45]

@@jakespinella8161 Youre right that the original song lyrics, which were written Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert following a trip down interstate 81 mostly in western Virginia. John Denver however took a trip of his own through West Virginia, and spent extensive time driving around the New River following the release of the song, which likely contributed to the song being adopted truly as a West Virginia song, instead of a Western Virginian song. The song is pretty almost entirely about West Virginia, as far as West Virginians are concerned. John Denver seems to agree too, personally playing Country Roads at the opening of WVU's Mountaineer Field. However the song does get some geologic things wrong, all geologic features found in Western Virginia. The Blue Ridge Mountains, a smaller division of the Appalachian Mountains (which themselves run through West Virginia) however the Blue Ridge Mountains themselves don't run through much, if any, part within West Virginia state lines. The Shenandoah River too also mostly runs through Virginia, however it does run through West Virginia briefly, eventually meeting the Potomac River in downtown Harper's Ferry.

[@jakespinella8161]

@@fdr45 the wiki page says when he recorded it he had never been to west Virginia before and it was apparently inspired by a road he drove on in Maryland lol and yeah the details of the song are about the Shenandoah valley area which is almost entirely in western Virginia. Seems like west Virginia's have definitely claimed it tho but that's a weak origin story lol

[@fdr45]

@@jakespinella8161 John Denver fully supported it being about West Virginia after its release, like I said he personally played it in Morgantown to commemorate the opening of WVU's Mountaineer Field. The country road was indeed in Maryland, with geographic feature of Virginia, but they chose the name of the state in the song to be West Virginia, and now its so intertwined with West Virginia, its basically just a West Virginian song, thats why they added it to the list of official state songs

[@graysonperkins3832]

I visited West Virginia University and can confirm the song was referenced everywhere and played everywhere as well. There are definitely worse songs you could have as the entire personality of your state

[@thegooseisin6910]

Michigan’s ads 100% cater to tourists from the state of Michigan and encourage the people of the largely populated south East to venture further into the state. Pure Michigan also likes to run ads of specific towns or locations and likes to sponsee ANYTHING that has to do with Michigan. Just recently they announced that at some McDonald’s locations through the state will now be selling a pure Michigan drink.

[@TearlessGosling]

We know the only state we need is our own

[@iamfoo1]

Makes sense that States with massive urban populations show their natural beauty since they it keep money in the state.

[@RunstarHomer]

Michigan is one of the most, if not the most, strikingly beautiful and unique states in the union. Unfortunately the population is concentrated in the nation's ugliest display of urban decay and concrete suburban sprawl. It's no wonder many Michiganders want to get away from that and enjoy the true beauty of our state.

[@austinreed6759]

Same with the Texas ad, it's not good at portraying Texas culture, but the showing the Space Center and the hot springs means that Texas's money can stay in the state. As Texas has high paying jobs, but the hot climate and lack of beauty means a lot of Texans spending money out of state...

[@SirEattonHogg]

@@CallieMasters5000 I live in the Detroit suburbs and when out of state friends/family visit for the first time, they always want to see the Detroit ghettos. Maybe they should add that to the Pure Michigan ads?

[@MateoQuixote]

I cannot, like CANNOT believe what you did to Kentucky. I literally saw this on my feed earlier and was so excited to watch later. I came home made dinner and sat down to eat and watch specifically to see what you'd say about Kentucky and then-... like... I have no words

[@thirdtooth4069]

Kentucky did it to themselves

[@stananderson4524]

These were suppose to be the most populsr looked at ads. Kentucky made this video. The world watched it.

[@PierzStyx]

Kentucky screwed Kentucky!

[@AntonWongVideo]

looks like JJ had few words himself

[@samuelthestrong]

sorry, I fell asleep halfway through your comment. What was that?

[@ScottCalvinsClause]

I think some tourism ads are focused more on day-tourism. I grew up in the plains of Colorado and i felt just as targeted by my own state's ads as I imagine anyone did. "Go skiing. It's only a few hours away." I think that's why you see so much hiking, fishing, generic stuff that people tend to overlook or take for granted in there home state.

[@ojgsk8ter]

We definitely get this in southern california as well. From the greater LA area it'll take you about 2-3 hours to get to touristy skiing and desert destinations, so we do get some ads playing locally that encourage people to visit those places.

[@jarjarbinks6018]

Oregon makes the state seem like a studio ghibli film. Pretty interesting

[@briannelson3830]

It’s cute but has major problems with the people (some of them have extremest views)

[@ratronald]

@@briannelson3830 wait are you unironically saying that the problem with the oregon tourism ad is that oregon has some nazis?

[@Croz89]

​@@briannelson3830 So does every state, I don't see what makes Oregon so special regarding that.

[@briannelson3830]

@@ratronald I didn’t say any group in particular or either side of the political spectrum because extremists are present all across the board

[@briannelson3830]

@@Croz89 in Oregon especially outside of Portland things are more charged then in many other parts of the country

[@PockASqueeno]

I like the Mississippi one. It’s the only one that capitalizes on the state’s history, as opposed to scenery or activities.

[@nathanyow3028]

Being from the state, I love it too. There are lots of civil rights related places.

[@PierzStyx]

Kinda twisted though. "Come see where Mississippians tortured and killed a bunch of people."

[@FairyCRat]

I guess Maryland tried that too

[@deancuban894]

Kinda depressing though. I dont want to visit that kinda stuff. Its like Hawaii promoting the pearl harbor bombing

[@maddie9602]

​@@PierzStyxI mean, compared to a lot of the rest of the South trying to downplay or hide their history, it does show a large degree of maturity and being willing to grow past their past mistakes.

[@captnsquashypant82]

I love the fact that even though he is Canadian and has a very distinctive accent he pronounces as missoura as it should be

[@diasimcil23]

I was cackling with delight at that part😂!

[@greywolf7577]

How did the end start getting pronounced as an "a"?

[@Gyropathic]

@@greywolf7577 Weird dialect in Missouri, kind of like how you'll hear people there say "Warsh" instead of "Wash" and things like that, just depends on the part of the state you live in, as for Missourians, that'd be a Constant state of Missouri 👍

[@andykluiter4109]

Iowan here. Totally agree with what you said! It's as if someone at the pitch meeting said, "You know, everyone already thinks Iowa is a bland, boring place. Let's run with that! And don't show the State Fair. Makes us look like hicks."

[@Parborway]

There is an identical statue to the one they showed in the Iowa video in my home town. I do not live in Iowa.

[@JohnnyComptonAuthor]

As someone who had to visit Des Moines a few times for my old job, the state fair is still a great memory for me, and definitely would improve the ad.

[@johnmcstabby2699]

that shit pisses me off like we have one of the biggest state fairs, the new skate park downtown is the biggest in the country. like we have cool shit show it off please.

[@cjthorp4805]

Kentucky and west virginia honestly undersold themselves. Both have a very rich history and culture of bluegrass/folk music which could've been really played up, even if that is a niche crowd. As well as Appalachian culture, Appalachian ghost stories, and the histories of coal mines, unions, company towns, that sort of thing. Could've attracted a niche crowd

[@pragueuprising560]

Kentucky was inexplicably terrible. As you said there is plenty of stuff to showcase and they didn't use any of it. I liked West Virgina but you are right they could have done more, and those topics you mentioned are what would appeal to me.

[@jecarlin]

West Virginia has Harper's Ferry which would draw in history nerds like myself.

[@alexandercampbell7903]

As a Canadian born Citizen who lived a long time in both states-- I could not agree more.

[@papaicebreakerii8180]

Same w PA. We don’t even rlly got beaches lmao. They could’ve did Appalachia, Hershey, Jim Thorpe, the Poconos, Lake Erie, Gettysburg, etc. Shii was a major bummer

[@DSzaks]

Not to mention the bourbon! I actually don't like bourbon but a bunch of other people sure do.

[@SwannSac]

just so you know (born and raised new mexican here), the symbol in new mexicos flag is called the zia symbol, it has high significance in the zia pueblos around here, but each of the 4 lines on each side have a meaning: The Zia sun symbol represent the four cardinal directions, the four seasons of the year, the four period of each day (morning, noon, evening, and night), and the four seasons of life (childhood, youth, middle age, and old age).

[@nesskimos7174]

The NC ad is probably targeted to NC residents. The state is very wide, so there are NC residents who live far (up to a 9 hour drive) from the coast. The NC coast itself has a lot going for it: lighthouses, the Wright Brothers memorial, a string of islands called the Outer Banks, etc. that the pitch would have been different to a wider audience.

[@DiamondKingStudios]

Probably like Georgia, which is very geographically similar and would probably employ a similar “Hey all you folks in Bartow County ever been to (names random barrier island on the Atlantic coast or the Okeefenokee Swamp)”

[@josephmanning3179]

I was gonna say Outer Banks is def one of the most popular beach getaways, especially on the east coast

[@DiamondKingStudios]

@@josephmanning3179 also they get to drum up interest in early aviation history because the wind there was strong enough for the Wright brothers to leave their native Ohio to test the Wright Flyer there, so they got that going for them. Also isn’t there some marshland up by the NC coast (probably inside the Sound)? Gotta be good for wildlife enthusiasts.

[@DiamondKingStudios]

@@josephmanning3179 “One of the most popular beach getaways… on the East Coast” I’m glad we can both pretend Florida doesn’t exist. -sincerely, a GA resident

[@austinbowles7500]

​@DiamondKingStudios I live about 10 minutes from Bartow county, can confirm that would work for me

[@desu8990]

Honestly glad to see that Utah tried to do something a little different. Given how much their tourism is centered on the outdoors, I can see how they'd easily do what most other states did and do a vague "look, you can hike here!" ad

[@Eric__J]

Their TV ads heavily focused on snow sports, which are the biggest drivers of tourism to the state outside the national parks of southern UT. It's funny because it's one of the states, like CO, where tourists want to hike to see the wilderness.

[@justinbchen]

I think a lot of the other hiking, fishing, etc ads might be targeting more local tourists, which isn't necessary a bad thing. Nobody's gonna fly halfway across the country specifically to hike and zipline in the Catskills, but a New Yorker taking a weekend trip uptown absolutely would, and that's still a lot of tourist dollars.

[@ladymacbethofmtensk896]

I still don't care to visit Utah. I am a drinker and a city type.

[@crazysarge9765]

salt lake is ok for that

[@ASententiousFellow]

“Maybe if your ad was more distinctive I would know the difference Missourah!?” I’ve never heard such sass in my life from J.J.

[@legocity2643]

The Hawaii one is almost certainly a result of the over-tourism of the islands and the ignorance (unwilling or otherwise) of people who visit there. These simmering tensions between locals and tourists really came to a head in 2021 when a tourist from Louisiana filmed a TikTok where she approached and touched one of our beloved (and more importantly federally protected) Hawaiian Monk Seals while on a beach on Kauai. Locals were really outraged and some even wanted prison time for her. But as a result of this and similar incidents, there has definitely been an increase in advertising that highlights respecting the islands, including a similar ad spot that now plays on all Hawaiian Airlines flights into Hawaii since then.

[@DiamondKingStudios]

I think it’s going to take a while before the average American, especially the average Southerner (I’m from Georgia btw) comes around to Hawaii as being more than some exotic, far-off archipelago where the signs aren’t all in English (unlike their typical all-English, maybe some Spanish setup they’re used to). Even though Hawaii is as much a state as the older 49, a trip from Minneapolis to San Diego won’t come with near as much culture shock as Minneapolis to Honolulu. And Hawaii just happened to become part of a country internationally known for their inconsiderate or ignorant tourists…

[@appa609]

​@@DiamondKingStudiosIn real terms, visiting Hawaii or Alaska is treated the same way as visiting Thailand or Iceland. It's a long expensive flight to what feels like a foreign land.

[@DiamondKingStudios]

@@appa609 which makes it so strange that both are US states. I’d wager that Alaska would be more familiar to a lower 48 resident than Hawaii, at least culturally.

[@twomp5613]

@@DiamondKingStudiosreally depends on what part of Alaska we’re talking about here.

[@DiamondKingStudios]

@@twomp5613 but there’s more of those areas in Alaska than in Hawaii. Alaska has Fairbanks and Anchorage, and I cannot name a major Hawaiian city apart from Honolulu and maybe Hilo. You go into the Alaskan countryside and the average American, Anglophone tourist will find either towns that speak mainly English or one of the many Alaska Native communities that either speak their own language or English (the extinction of many of these languages is probably a major political issue). In Hawaii I doubt there’s as many primarily English-speaking “frontier towns”.

[@adamkitchens5333]

As an Alabamian, I can confirm that bbq is taken very seriously, and that it is the best. thing. ever.

[@PierzStyx]

Alabama: "At least we're not Mississippi."

[@rzeka]

I'm from Massachusetts and I didn't realize how bad the barbeque around here was until I went down south and tried some actual barbeque. Best food decision I ever made.

[@SCIFIguy64]

Southern barbecue exists, KC is king.

[@lainiwakura1776]

@@PierzStyx Idk, I heard something might have happened in Montgomery, but I can't be sure... It's a joke, I know what happened.

[@JDGurg]

Have you tried Johnnys up in Cullman? Best in the state in my opinion

[@LongIslandCityLayout]

The problem with states like Delaware and Connecticut, especially to anyone who lives in the Northeast, they’re all just states that you drive through to get to major cities like Boston or DC. Nobody thinks of them as destination states.

[@jijitters]

Especially since they're so tiny and on top of each other. There's not a whole lot to differentiate each of those states in that area from each other.

[@CrazyCatMom11]

I can confirm. Husband and I did a road trip through New England last month, starting in DC and ending in Portland, following the coast. We didn't stop in Delaware at all, although we did pause in Connecticut for lunch.

[@FizzyCape]

@@CrazyCatMom11connecticuts ad should’ve focused on pizza, because that’s the only thing the state is good for. Other than that, it just feels like a boring extension of Massachusetts/new york

[@chadcountiss5290]

Exactly. My experience of Connecticut, Rhode Island and Delaware is basically "been through on the train"

[@quickstixproductions9880]

Oregon by far was my favourite. Im a sucker for animation mostly but i would say it ascends a typical ad into something i actively will go out my way to watch.

[@catboyrodeo]

As a Washingtonian, I can't believe we were shown up by Oregon

[@Runner_in_the_dark]

Even if we did have a video, I think we would have still been shown up by Oregon.

[@brandongroce8212]

Oregon murdered everyone

[@mistadobalina229]

@@Runner_in_the_dark Lol being from WA that fits, Visit Oregon ( but sshhh it’s better to live in Washington)

[@mellonmarshall]

ha, I went to Seattle and they like 'why are you here??' Been up for like 40 hours and so thought I was going to ask to go back home.

[@trish8964]

LOL Not at all mad my state of WA does not have a youtube channel or video

[@TheMightySceptile]

As a new jersey resident I find it really funny that Pennsylvania's ad was all about going to the beach, when NJ beaches are flooded with Pennsylvanian tourists every summer.

[@LordBitememan]

The Pure Michigan ads got a huge shot in the arm when a St. Claire Shores man started releasing the "Not So Pure Michigan" spoofs. And for locals those videos are HILARIOUS!

[@kcelloboy8]

@lordbitememan I just spent the last 15 minutes losing my mind over how awesome those videos are. Thank you!

[@Autumnokay]

i've always loved these lol

[@Lanrick2002]

As a Utahn, I love how my state is focused on the state parks instead of the "Mighty 5" national parks. Kodachrome Basin is out of the way but very beautiful state park. Our state parks are very underrated because they are overlooked by the 5 national parks here. My favorite State Park in Utah is either Wasatch Mountain State Park or Goblin Valley State Park. PS i would of said 5 Brigham Youngs not Joseph Smiths because Joseph Smith died before Utah was even founded.

[@AdamTheJensen]

Maybe he should have given it 50 wives!

[@ratronald]

@@AdamTheJensen you could've just said five wives and had the joke be less confusing, but it wasn't enough for you. you had to do 50.

[@JimmyMon666]

Yeah I still want to visit Goblin Valley. As a Nevadan, Utah is the state I visit the most. I've been to Kodachrome, it's not real big, but pretty cool.

[@UtahFloridaMan]

Utah's 2nd most popular video is another banger... their tourism board is on-point. kzbin.info/www/bejne/a2e4qqSfYtyWqpo

[@dinocollins720]

agreed haha. I went to BYU

[@LikaLaruku]

I love the animated Visit Oregon ads. The only other post-90s ads I really like are the animated paint swatch ones from Sherman Williams.

[@benjaminwatt2436]

From an art perspective the animated video is great, but from a person who knows little about the state i say a fail. I still know nothing about the state and now i dont even know how it looks

[@andrzejszpak688]

@@benjaminwatt2436It mostly looks how it does in the ad, except without the sky whales.

[@ChrisJefferyCartridge]

The Pennsylvania one puzzles me, because as a PA native I have always considered it a landlocked state. Apparently there's a small sliver of ocean feeding into the southeast end of the state, but anyone I knew who wanted to see the ocean would simply go to New Jersey.

[@skyline17]

I was thinking the same thing! There's a tiny piece of Lake Erie waterfront near Erie too, but not sure that's a big attraction draw.

[@jessicawenger7959]

Agreed! As a PA native, if I wanted beaches, I'd head to DE. I found it to be an odd approach.

[@diplenski]

that's the delaware river 😆

[@UserName-ts3sp]

gonna say most people from PA aren’t going to beaches in PA. probably NJ or DE

[@Marylandbrony]

From what i can tell, that part of Pennsylvania is a polluted shithole.

[@reallygoodname]

Really fun video idea. As someone not from USA, I would say those nature shots are splendid. I can see an american or canadian not being impressed by big forests and mountains, but for me those really worked very well. If I have to give an example of the Gold Standard of Tourism videos, I would say the 1967 Ontario short film 'A Place to Stand' is one of the best short films I have seen. Of course thats more of an art work and not a tourism ad but it works in that way too.

[@lainiwakura1776]

I live in Southern California, I love the forest shots because there's none close by me!

[@stev6963]

I gotta say I felt some sense of pride for Colorado (born, raised, and still living here) when JJ gave such high praise to its tourism video. I’ve noticed for a lot of these videos that rank things like all of the state flags, state license plates, state welcome signs, and state drivers ID designs, etc.; Colorado tends to rank at the top in almost all of them. 🙌🏽

[@ShannaFarley]

As a fellow Coloradoan, we know good branding and marketing it seems. We just go for simplicity it seems. The landscape just sells itself. We should get weird with it...check out our monstrosity of a Mexican Restaurant tourist trap (Casa Bonita), stay the night in world renowned haunted hotels, come get high in the international church of cannabis, take your chances on amusement park rides that probably shouldn't be legal (Lakeside and Glenwood), etc. We can honestly get really weird with it, if we wanted.

[@campbell9825]

@@ShannaFarleydon’t forget the frozen dead guy!

[@ShannaFarley]

@@campbell9825 aw yes. We actually have two separate coffin races up here. Can't forget that.

[@purpleblah2]

My favorite is probably Oregon, probably because I've come across it organically before and am a sucker for animation, but they also combined two of the things Oregon is best known for: being "weird" and the natural landscapes.

[@southcoastinventors6583]

Here is Oregon in a nutshell you want desert we got it, you want gambling plenty of Indian reservations, you like guns, you don't like guns, waterfalls, snow, forests, nearly every form of outdoor activity, drugs, so so international airport, bigfoot, paying for someplace to sleep/eat/items is optional in the (big cities) and fishing.

[@anxiousseal556]

@@southcoastinventors6583Oregon is basically a complete package

[@southcoastinventors6583]

@@anxiousseal556 Yeah great place to visit best month is usually May-June temperature wise. If you like outdoor it has almost everything except tropical.

[@anxiousseal556]

@@southcoastinventors6583 used to live there from tropical country. My favorite time is September until fall ends and replaced with 3 months of cloudy depression lol, still love that place since I like somewhere not hot with great outdoor setting

[@captlazer5509]

Late at night they hand out free coffee at the rest stops so drivers don't fall asleep at the wheel. Never seen that before.

[@Ellary_Rosewood]

I highly recommend watching all the other Travel Oregon "Slightly Exaggerated" videos (there are several). The artists worked so hard on these projects and each one feels like a breath of fresh air. 💚🌲

[@Zaxophone32]

As an Oregonian who was recently given EXTREMELY qualified praise by CGPgrey, it was nice to see this video title and know it was a competion we would dominate in.

[@beepbeeplettuce5890]

Who the heck is cgpgrey

[@WatchVidsMakeLists]

​@beepbeeplettuce5890 CGP Grey is another KZbinr. He tackles a pretty broad range of topics with the general theme of getting way too deep into information on some obscure or overlooked topic (origin of the name Tiffany, meaning behind the numbers on airport runways, etc.). He's got a little stickman avatar and a pretty dry but occasionally funny delivery. I used to watch his content but I stopped when he decided to make his comments section for patrons only, ostensibly because of the overabundance of bot comments.

[@greywolf7577]

CGP Grey and J.J. McCullough recently had a very nerdy disagreement about flags.

[@Why_It]

As a Floridian, I think you should've made an honorary mention to Disney World and how much their marketing for their theme parks and resorts would also influence tourists. Same for California with Disney Land. The money these state put into advertising is nothing compared to what Disney invests.

[@SuperPaez]

Also as a Floridian, I'm of the opposite opinion. With all the money and interest in Disney and theme parks already there, a FL ad should be to showcase what other things our culture and communities have to offer.

[@The_world_is_not_worthy_of_Him]

Disney world isn't the State of Florida lmao

[@benjaminrobinson3842]

The legislature probably figures (at least with some justification) that people are already inclined to come here, so you probably don't have to put a lot of effort into convincing them.

[@Torus2112]

I'm guessing Las Vegas has plenty of resources allocated to promoting tourism all by itself, so it makes sense that at the state level they'd focus on promoting the rest of the state.

[@theladthattakescontent2650]

Is anybody else able to picture an ad so infinitely better for your state that you’re depressed it isn’t real? ☠️

[@officiallyunofficial1]

South Dakota just needed reenactors of the presidents on Rushmore going to the various national parks that are in the state and the last shot needed them to look at Mt. Rushmore with Washington asking the others if his nose is really that big.

[@pragueuprising560]

This but unironically

[@Jabberwockybird]

Wall drug Badlands

[@mworld2611]

South Dakota, hire this guy

[@sharimeline3077]

They should hire you.

[@samsupplee-niederman1752]

This is the best idea I've ever seen in an internet comment

[@stellastarfish333]

As someone who has lived in Nebraska for my entire adult life but did not grow up here, I love the Nebraska tourism ad. It was pretty controversial among people who grew up here, but as an "outsider" I still think the contrarian aspect was absolutely the way to go and I'm glad to see you agree!

[@cooperhilinsky6361]

I’d love to float down a river in one of those giant metal tubs. It honestly looks like so much fun.

[@blakesucha8774]

@@cooperhilinsky6361it’s fun af

[@paytonlott5183]

@@cooperhilinsky6361 it's called tanking and it is the best way to get drunk with friends on the river by far.

[@p8nisman-not]

@@paytonlott5183do people actually do that? I’ve been to the platte a lot and never seen it

[@maasymoo]

I would say the Pure Michigan add campaign gets so much fanfare from Michiganders because it is targeted mainly at us. Our population dense areas are not where our most popular tourist areas are, and I think for that reason they were mainly trying to encourage Michiganders to travel within our own state from the dense suburban areas to the beautiful but sparsely populated scenic areas who depend on tourism.

[@UserName-ts3sp]

ya flood ohio with them tho

[@maasymoo]

@@UserName-ts3sp I didn’t know that as I do not live in Ohio

[@greed0599]

As someone from the there, the Louisiana one is touching. Literally everyone down there thinks _their_ way is the way to do it. If the population of Louisiana was 101 then there would be 101 gumbo recipes, and everyone would swear up and down that _they_ were the only ones to do it right.

[@BagMonster]

Would love to see an international version of this, a lot of your older videos (like famous speeches or photographs) have one international and one American version, and I'd love to see the trend continue.

[@krombopulos_michael]

Watching this video I got two midroll tourism ads for international destinations. One was the Isle of Man in the UK and the other was for Brittany in France.

[@canles]

I would like to see cool tourism ads from countries/Cities. I like my home city, Seinäjoki's campain where they advertized themselves as "Capital of Space".

[@SamAronow]

@@canles Wait, you have a town with a space gimmick too? We have our own in Israel, Mitzpe Ramon.

[@BioluminescentTree]

Yes please, THIS THIS

[@DiamondKingStudios]

@@SamAronowMeanwhile my state’s southern neighbor, Florida:

[@christineh14]

I’m happy that my state acquitted itself well. Georgia is a surprisingly big state with a diverse landscape, which is one reason it’s so popular as a TV and movie location. Kind of the Vancouver of the US.

[@benjaminrobinson3842]

A thought occurred to me earlier today. Is it possible that some of the more "generic" ads are aimed at attracting *in*-state tourism? The message almost seems to be, "Hey! Don't go out of state to see forests, brightly-painted buildings, and hot air balloons! We've got that right here in [insert state name]!"

[@tro_b0t]

The abrupt skips and passes of the unimaginative States shows just how done you are with having to make this episode 🤣

[@pdruiz2005]

JJ had to research and watch FIFTY websites, at the very least. Of course he was totally done with this video. He's ready to move on to Canada or other country with a much smaller number of provinces/states/prefectures/what have you. LOL.

[@DiamondKingStudios]

@@pdruiz2005ome visit Moncton! Why? Just please do it Respectfully, New Brunswick Tourism Board” (Then the same thing in French, I think that province is bilingual officially despite the fact that Cajun culture exists in Louisiana)

[@benjaminrobinson3842]

I, for one, loved the disses of Kentucky (three seconds!) and Delaware ("like the part of medication ads where they list the side effects"), and NY/SC ("South Carolina has zip-lining, so I guess New York wasn't so special, after all.")

[@Blueyzachary]

As someone who lives in Utah, I forget how it isn’t very common to hear people speaking languages from all over the world when hiking and exploring in other states. Here, that will be something you definitely experience. We have TONS of East Asian tourists, year round.

[@kaloncpu57]

Pretty happy with Colorado's ad, about what I would expect. On the other hand, I was completely surprised at how Georgia, Alabama, and Mississipi seemed to have some of the most thought put into making their videos specific and unique. For whatever reason, I did not expect that trio of states to want to put much effort into drawing in tourists.

[@vaporousshadow]

I mean with how much the internet shits on southern states (many times justified, but many times just perpetuating stereotypes), I think they feel they are fighting an uphill battle. So they put more effort in in order to fight those negative stereotypes.

[@kaloncpu57]

@@vaporousshadow Yeah, I can see that being the case maybe.

[@lilliedoubleyou3865]

I lived in Colorado for a few years, but it was enough to make me weirdly defensive about any other state trying to advertise skiing/hiking/trekking, etc., like nobody beats Colorado for skiing. Nobody. (except Alaska).

[@BuddySweyzer]

"Get ready, folks! We're going on vacation to Delaware!" - Literally nobody ever

[@JJMcCullough]

The Simpsons are going to Delaware! "I want to visit a screen door factory!"

[@nicholashall4808]

​@@JJMcCulloughSimpsons did it! Simpsons did it!

[@greenlantern7959]

Let’s set up a corporation!

[@ChrisThomas-xt4jh]

Weirdly Delaware has a pretty decent set of attractions between Rehoboth Beach, the Hagley Museum, and that one building with a PO Box for like half of the corporations in America. Okay maybe not a ton of stuff to do, but probably enough for a couple of days.

[@MattMcIrvin]

Actually incorrect! Lewes, Delaware was my parents' favorite beach hangout for years, until they moved to a town in Virginia that greatly resembles Lewes, Delaware.

[@BasicWorldbuilder]

I have never laughed so hard at a KZbin video than the abrupt cut of "Kentucky seems like a real snooze". I've been there. There's plenty to do, They must have really fumbled the video 😂

[@jacobbwalters8133]

As a Michigander, I just wanted to hop in and apologize to everyone for popularizing the generic voiceover and video montage set up. The Pure Michigan campaign, if not the first to use this format, was definitely the most successful, turbocharging the tourism economy in the state and winning all sorts of awards. I think we did it better than most states, and having Tim Allen narrate definitely gave an additional Michigan specific touch, but in the years since Pure Michigan originally came out, the format has been copied to death, and isn’t quite so special feeling anymore.

[@ShannonWare]

I have been living in Ireland for the past 13 years. This time of year we get loads of tourism ads, mostly for the Aegean coast of Turkey, Messi in Saudi Arabia, that kind of thing. They only US state ad from this exhaustive list that has been shown to me on KZbin is the ad for Connecticut. When I first watched it, I saw that multi-person bike where people drink, and thought "Australia?" Then a drag queen, some water sports, multi-ethnic people in an urban setting. "Still Australia?" Nope. Connecticut. Well I am not going there so that is not money well spent. I went to university in Amherst and had loads of friends in NYC. I think in 6 years I maybe set foot in Hartford once. To me it will always be a place to drive through, and the tourism ad certainly hasn't changed that.

[@hacim42]

I've lived in both Oregon and Washington for about equal amounts of time and I'm proud to be in 1-5th place and last at the same time. Feels perfectly PNWish.

[@realemperorkuzco]

As a New Mexican, the TV ads of "New Mexico True" is amazing, as it features specific ads for basically every "major" corner of the state. Also, they have a hot air balloon.

[@515aleon]

I love their channel particularly the old New Mexico true full length videos of the areas of the state. I don't know who the narrator is but he is very good. I'm not sure these are really ads for the state as you would have to watch for an hour.

[@515aleon]

Also those things are the Zia (a native tribe) sun and is in the center of NM flag, very appropriate. But I enjoyed the "5 Whatever these things are".

[@realemperorkuzco]

@@515aleon Tbh, I really love "Feels Like Home" by Richmond (used by NM True), as it's like my state's version of "Country Roads Take Me Home"

[@515aleon]

@@realemperorkuzco Very much love it.

[@suziel7197]

Proud of New Mexico - and I love how he had no idea what the Zia was.

[@nojustno.justno]

As an Ohioan, I think Ohio should lean more into what it has to offer that most places don’t have aviation history, surprisingly elaborate native earthworks (and the Loveland Frogman)

[@awesomezilla]

Yessssss, I think leaning into the unique Americana of each state (In this instance cryptids) could be an amazing angle. Mothman for West Virginia for instance could connect the state to something other than the singular thing it's known for.

[@sumedhgarimella6024]

Just put 'swag like ohio' over a montage of those sites and its perfect

[@nojustno.justno]

@@sumedhgarimella6024 we have two state songs why not a third

[@TrickiVicBB71]

I wanna visit Dayton Air Museum one day. Take a flight or car from Alberta

[@nojustno.justno]

@@TrickiVicBB71 it’s quite good, make sure to stop at the Dayton Aviation NHP, it’s really cool

[@cbd4999]

The reason why New Jersey ad feature’s ‘that guy’ (@21:16) is because that image (called Tillie) originates from a boardwalk mural in Asbury Park, NJ! I want an NJ tourism ad featuring Snooki as narrator or perhaps the slogan “New Jersey is for enemies” but maybe that’s just me

[@paprikashman]

When JJ makes a video about the states, it just makes my entire day.

[@xandercruz900]

You arent kidding about the Michigan ads. We freaking LOVE those things and were actually upset when they stopped making them. We are a state that gets a bad image (ahem, Detroit) and the resulting low self esteem was helped greatly by those ads. Heck, we are more likely to vacation in our own state anyway because it is so wonderful.

[@logan_page]

Hell, even Detroit gets a bad image. Detroit is fantastic nowadays

[@i_unfriend_u]

As a born and raised Georgian, you can tell that video was made by film industry transplants. The fact that it's centered around a TV show and only features densely populated Metro Atlanta cities, while completely ignoring all of the natural beauty and outdoor activities says it all.

[@davidburrow5895]

As someone from Iowa I'm so glad Washington was there to rank below my home state. It struck me that the Iowa video didn't even try very hard to get footage of the few tourist attractions there are in this state. Most of the scenes were from city parks in Des Moines. I'd be interesting to see you try the same idea with the provinces and territories of Canada. We periodically get ads for Ontario tourism on TV here, and I've seen Manitoba ads during KZbin videos.

[@jaydena6297]

As someone from Washington, I'm glad that we didn't have a tourism video at all. My town is beautiful & pleasant. And then we have our festivals in the spring. That is when I get major anxiety because there are too many people. 😭

[@DiamondKingStudios]

@@jaydena6297this only makes me want to visit WA even more -from GA, your last hope to turn back before you enter Florida

[@Somestupidloser]

It's insane that there wasn't anything from the quad cities in there from what I could tell.

[@stevemcgroob4446]

They could have at least promoted the Amana Colonies.

[@InquisitorThomas]

North Dakota: “We’re just happy you remembered we exist.”

[@insertlaughter4436]

I wish you’d mentioned Tennessee’s second most viewed video. It’s pretty close to the top spot, and does a really creative take on the “nature” angle by centering the ad around the fact it has viewfinders for the colorblind and having most of it be through a filter.

[@JimmyMon666]

I've seen the movie Fargo. That's all I know. 🙂

[@DiamondKingStudios]

North Dakota Tired of corn fields? We have wheat fields!

[@mgimansss]

I will say that it makes sense that North Carolina's ad focuses on the beaches since the outer banks is considered one of the best beach spots in the country (#5 according to Forbs). But it's a lot more relatable if you grew up going there for summer vacation. They probably should have shown the islands off more.

[@caspermadlener4191]

I really like the Utah commercial. I truly felt like it was a cold evening, with beautiful stone formations, and even with a visible sky.

[@gregblair5139]

Pennsylvania has Independence Hall, the Franklin Institute, the Amish Country, and Hershey (where the street lights are shaped like Hershey's Kisses), and Gettysburg. These places are unique and should be part of that state's promotion.

[@MattMcIrvin]

Massachusetts could lean heavily into history 'n' museums, too, but I assume they figured people already know about all that and are going for something different. Only it ended up just looking generic.

[@LangThoughts]

As I said to another commenter, focusing on the Revolution parts of Philly and then BAM! Valley Forge would be a great angle.

[@thomaswilliams2273]

We all saw "Witness" and we're embarrassed to go stare at the Amish. I would like to go to an Amish store though.

[@LangThoughts]

@@thomaswilliams2273 Even worse: Using that Weird Al song as the backing track......

[@LangThoughts]

@@thomaswilliams2273 As a linguistics major who is Jewish, I'd like to go to Amish Country just to see how intelligible PA Dutch is with Yiddish, both being non-standard versions of High German.

[@aeroavis-cbj]

It's funny the the PA tourism board portrayed PA as a beach destination even though we only have about 50 miles of coast with lake Erie and don't even border the Atlantic.

[@erickreillyart]

Those "things" you gave New Mexico five of are called zias. If you're travels ever take you to NM, be sure to try the green chile. It's eaten on everything from stews, to cheeseburgers, to pizza! And if you're in Albuquerque in early October, be sure to check out the Balloon Fiesta.

[@Klinety66]

I had never been so appalled by a noun in a video ever before.

[@therealCamoron]

The Pure Michigan campaign is probably one of the best tourism ad campaigns for a state ever done, it's still in use 15 years after its introduction.

[@DiamondKingStudios]

I see it everywhere. If it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t imagine Michigan as a place very appealing for tourism.

[@sunlitegodis]

Perhaps…but I still have the Yes Michigan! The Feelings Forever song in the deep recesses of my 80s inner child’s brain. That damn song played way too often on TV in Chicagoland. kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3mmiZabodaVqrs

[@Sagfanfan]

As an Ohioan the primal rage within me when you said 5/5 Buckeyes was the quickest 0 to 100 to 0 I have ever been faced with

[@kevincronk7981]

I've been to Wyoming and marketing themselves for fishing is very dissapointing. They've got some of the best wilderness for hiking and backpacking in the states, they're a state that could legitimately pitch hiking as a reason to go there. I went there from Virginia for a backpacking trip.

[@DityDan]

Hey J.J., the new Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC expansion features a track based on Vancouver, and as I was playing through it I couldn’t help but wonder what all the little references in it were. I’d love if you could make a video guide of the track explaining all of the references within and reviewing it as representation of Canada. Thank you!

[@JJMcCullough]

I was thinking of doing just that!

[@sambarnett5410]

@@JJMcCullough You should analyze multiple Mario Kart's real world tracks through your lens. That'd be awesome!

[@InventorZahran]

We have forests, mountains, lakes, and generic quirky landmarks. You can hike, fish, relax, mountain bike, or even zip-line here! Visit [adjective] [State], and experience [vaguely compelling slogan].

[@felixlarsson2665]

do one of these for the toursim boards of each EU country that would be super interesting to see what each country promotes as their main selling point

[@eloiselovesdevi]

They could have done so much more with Kentucky. It is my current home state. I live in the Bluegrass region (near Lexington, KY), and it is one of the most beautiful places I’ve lived, and unlike anywhere else I’ve ever seen. There are miles and miles of manicured horse farms, with deep green rolling hills, boarded by stone walls and black or white fencing. These horse farms can be viewed from gently winding roads, that are interspersedly covered by tree canopies. The thoroughbred/horse culture is a big deal in KY and truly a very unique and wonderful aspect of the state. It is a shame the KY tourism department isn’t better at promoting this beautiful commonwealth.

[@adamdean5881]

CT is a high tourism state. People from New York and Long Island love it and visit all the time

[@riverking8258]

I live in Illinois and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the Pure Michigan ad it’s hammered in my skull

[@catman6089]

Despite being one of the most memed states, Ohio actually has a lot going on for casual tourism. Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Football Hall of Fame, Air Force Museum, Cedar Point, Hocking Hills, Amish Country, 3 of some of the biggest cities (Cleveland Columbus Cincinnati) with their respective Zoos and Museums, Ohio Caverns, the A Christmas Story House, Cuyahoga Falls, and of course who could possibly forget the iconic Skyline Chili 🍝

[@dustinreckling5496]

As someone from Nebraska, they have recently invested a LOT of money into their state parks and recreation areas, which puts it above its neighboring states in my opinion. Lots of good things going on there in terms of tourism.

[@ConiferCreates]

As an Oregonian I remember fondly when that ad came out, I seem to remember even seeing some local news article or something about it. Also seems really clever because at least before the pandemic we got a lot of japanese tourists in the summers

[@analysis726]

there’s even a couple portland themed bars in japan

[@graysonspaw]

The Michigan ads are iconic! A lot of people from around here made memes/parodies of them too. The construction season one is my personal favorite.

[@MakriaMicronation]

As an Arizonan I can confirm that travel ad is literally so inaccurate. Come here for like the grand canyon or some Mexican food in Southern Arizona where I live but other than that it's just desert and death and omfg it's so fucking hot here please for the sake of not having a heat stroke do not come here💀💀💀