These city slogans are a mouthful ... of
something
Yes, you can be 'Always Turned On' in 'The City That
Never Sleeps'
By Chris Rodell
msnbc.com contributor msnbc.com contributor
They are the vanity license plates of America’s cities and towns, mere handfuls of words
— sometimes mere handfuls of letters — that convey metropolitan images as indelible
and distinctive as tattoos.
What a city calls itself says more about a city than stacks and stacks of mind-numbing
federal census figures ever could.
“A really good city slogan sells a unique experience,” says branding expert Eric Swartz,
president of Tagline Guru, a San Mateo, Calif., verbal branding agency. “It can be either
a conversation starter or the exclamation point at the end of a really compelling
sentence.”
Some are created by history, some by committee. Some of the best are as organic and
persistent as weeds.
Here are 10 of the best, most enduring and most colorful. Like the cities they represent,
they’re all over the map.

Eagle Pass, Texas: 'Where Yee-Haw! meets Ole!'
Eagle Pass Chamber of Commerce
Eagle Pass, Texas
This is euphoric little border town is where multiculturalism is literally embraced. “Our
town (and Mexico’s Piedras Negras) has a long history of friendly collaboration,” says
Sandra Martinez of the Eagle Pass Chamber of Commerce (http://eaglepasstexas.com).
“That’s been our slogan for nearly 20 years because it practically screams ‘border’ and
‘fun.’” That bit about cultures embracing isn’t just marketing hyperbole either. Eagle
Pass is home to the International Friendship Festival, March 18-27. “The highlight is the
‘Abrazo’ — Spanish for 'embrace' — where people from both countries line up to hug
one another in the middle of International Bridge No. 1.” Bridge No. 1? “Yes, we built
another one a few years ago to make it easier for everyone to go back and forth.”

Saratoga, Wyo.: 'Where Trout Leap in the Streets'
Paul Weinfurtner / Desert Nuclear/Paul Weinfurtner
Saratoga, Wyo.
And you thought your local public works department struggled with things like snow
removal. The late outdoor writer Billy O’Neil used the line after observing bioniclooking trout springing from the North Platte River that runs through this picturesque
town. “It ran in Outdoor Living magazine in 1927 and just stuck,” says local promoter
Stacy Crimmins (www.saratogachamber.info). “Today that line is on our lampposts, our
promotional materials and still really resonates with people who love the great outdoors.”
Saratoga’s Hotel Wolf is a renown destination for prime rib lovers, but that’s not the only
unlikely traffic you’ll see in tiny Saratoga, pop. 1,736. “The cars on the bridge have to
slow down to allow for all the people fishing the river time to cast,” Crimmins says. The
priorities in Saratoga mean that people fishing always have the right of way.

Independence, Mo.: 'Where The Trail Starts & The Buck Stops'
Herbert Webb / City of Independence Tourism
Vaile Mansion, built by frontier business tycoon Harvey Vaile in 1881 in Independence,
Mo.
As deft a city summation as could be conjured, this phrase gloriously reduces the rich
history of this once rough, now refined, frontier town to just eight descriptive words. The
first half refers to the town’s proud history as the Ellis Island of the Midwest.
“Independence was for more than 400,000 Americans the last look at civilization before
heading off into the Plains and Indian territory,” says Janeen Aggen of
www.visitindependence.com. The National Frontier Trails Museum is here, and tourists
can enjoy informative city tours on mule-drawn covered wagon. The Harry S Truman
Library & Museum depicts America’s 33rd president as colorful, charming and authentic,
much like the very Missouri town he forever called home.

Yuma, Ariz.: 'Experience Our Sense of Yuma'
Paige Lineberry
Back in the day, the Yuma Territorial Prison had a fearsome reputation among
western desperadoes.
Some 80 years before Plymouth Rock, Spanish explorers in 1540 set foot in this
sunbathed land, observed low-hanging clouds from Native American cooking fires and
instinctively said the Spanish word for smoke: “Yuma.” Their offhand meteorological
observation laid the foundation for centuries of low jokes. “Some people didn’t like the
slogan so it’s no longer official,” says Ann Walker of www.visityuma.com. “But it still
pops up because lots of people will always enjoy a really good, cheesy pun.” Check out
the once-fearsome Yuma Territorial Prison (1876-1909), now a state historical site, and
festivals such as Yuma Lettuce Days, March 11-13, that pay homage to $3 billion in
agricultural interests in a land graced with a whopping 350 days of sunshine. And take it
easy on the jokes. Just because they have naturally sunny dispositions doesn’t mean their
feelings can’t be hurt. After all, they’re only Yuman.
Austin, Texas: 'Keep Austin Weird'
Jay Janner / AP file
The Capitol dome looms over a patch of bluebonnets in Austin, Texas.
It’s not difficult to imagine the sort of army that would muster on behalf of this cause.
Their uniforms would be tie-dye, not camo. They’d be armed with guitars, not guns. And
they’d offer peace pipes with such friendly persistence those determined to make Austin
normal would disband in fits of of giggling distraction. “Tell people you’re from Texas
and they think, conservative Red State,” says Roy Benear of the Austin CVB
(www.austintexas.org). “You get a whole different vibe when you tell them Austin.
Everyone thinks Austin’s cool.” The phrase took off after local Red Wassenich
explained on-air why he was donating to oddball radio program, “The Lounge Show,” on
KOOP-FM: The show, he said, “helps keep Austin weird.” Ten years later, Wassenich’s
humble and heartfelt proclamation is still a rallying cry for those eager to make aberrant
behavior seem like a civic duty. Careful, Austin. Someday soon California’s going to
want you back.

Albuquerque, N.M.: 'It’s A Trip'
Jay Blackwood / Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau
Sandia Peak Tram in Albuquerque, N.M.
Maybe the most potent promotional use of eight letters in marketing history. Straightarrow nostalgics will associate it with vehicular traffic along old Route 66 that cuts right
through town. And the Sandia Peak Tramway is a wonderful little trip up a scenic
mountain. Yet, “trip” also has subversive meanings popular with people who enjoy
reciting lines from movies like “The Big Lebowski.” “Albuquerque is a creative place
where people can escape to and enjoy a whole new reality,” says Megan Mayo of the
Albuquerque CVB (www.itsatrip.org). “And that’s just what our little slogan conveys.”
But dining at places such as the famed El Pinto Restaurant & Cantina, enjoying any of
Albuquerque’s 19 museums, or its splendid resorts means a trip to Albuquerque can still
be really down-to-earth fun — even when you’re floating hundreds of feet above it. The
Albuquerque International Balloon Festival, Oct. 1-9, is world renown.

Hershey, Pa.: 'The Sweetest Place on Earth'
AP file
Hershey's Chocolate Kisses are seen coming off a simulated production line at Hershey's
Chocolate World in Hershey, Pa. on March 10, 2006.
Hershey is what company towns would look like if companies were run by 6-year-olds.
There’s a zoo, waterpark, amusement rides, museums, a grand hotel and a great big candy
factory that perfumes the whole town with the heady scent of chocolate. Founder Milton
Hershey was determined to build a utopia that nurtured the people he employed. They
gave him Kisses (about 1,300 per minute). He gave them schools, affordable housing,
theaters, championship golf and everything else. The fatherless candy tycoon died, in
effect, penniless in 1945 having directed his entire fortune to fund The Milton Hershey
School for underprivileged children. Today, the school’s endowment is $6 billion and
will endure for as long as people crave chocolate. “He insisted pennies from every
purchase of Hershey products go to fund the school,” says Hershey Entertainment &
Resorts spokesperson Mindy Bianca (www.hersheypa.com). And you thought his
chocolate was sweet.
Atlantic City: 'Always Turned On'
Mary Godleski / AP file
Spectators watch Lights of Freedom at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, N.J., in
2003.
It could be argued some prostitutes have more demure pick-up lines. But since when did
subtlety ever outsell sex? Never. In this case, titillation works for a city that’s always
strolled a fine line trying to retain a glorious past while reminding potential tourists about
all that’s shiny new and sexy. “People seem to get a chuckle out of it,” says Jeff Vasser of
the Atlantic City CVB (www.atlanticcitynj.com), who says the line scores well with
bachelor/bachelorette parties, and convivial seekers of nightlife and entertainment. Given
that kind of clientele, latching onto something so nakedly risque was no gamble. History
shows anything announcing it’s really turned on will always attract more people than it
turns off.

New York, N.Y.: 'The City That Never Sleeps'
Mark Lennihan / AP file
Central Park and midtown Manhattan are shown in this 2007 aerial view in New York.
New York is the only city with a national anthem. The song was written for and first
performed by Liza Minnelli in the 1977 Martin Scorsese film “New York, New York,”
co-starring Robert DeNiro. But it was Frank Sinatra in 1979 who gave it its signature
swagger. Not only does it never sleep, it never acts like it even needs a nap. “That line
perfectly conveys all the excitement and electricity that Manhattan represents to the entire
world,” says Swartz. “It’s as brash and robust as the city it describes.” It’s home to 24hour spas, hair salons, movie theaters, bowling alleys and eateries to tempt every taste.
And if you need a screw at 4:30 a.m., Manhattan’s the place for you: Nuthouse
Hardware, 202 E. 29th Street, is an open ‘round-the-clock hardware
store. www.nycgo.com

Las Vegas: 'What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas'
Isaac Brekken / AP file
In this photo taken Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2010, the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is pictured
under the final stages of construction in Las Vegas. The Cosmopolitan, with nearly 3000
rooms and a 100,000 square foot casino floor, is the newest addition to the Las Vegas
Strip, opening Dec. 15. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)
This is the slogan that somehow manages to make sin seem sacred. It both leers and turns
a blind eye to the itches much of America longs to scratch. It doesn’t got so far as to
endorse immorality, but it does say — wink, wink — this is the place to come if you want
to get away with it. “Pure genius,” says Swartz. “That slogan, in effect, rivals church.
Any tagline that says it has the power to absolve sin is going to really resonate, as this
one certainly has.” A little fling of a thing, the nimble little phrase marries promise with
perception while simultaneously annulling any sense that adults must always be
responsible. Not always. Not in Vegas. www.lvcva.com
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/41745003/ns/travel-destination_travel/#ei3