
Something that makes me laugh, every single time I think of it, is the fact that in 2019, my beloved Midwestern state of Nebraska launched a tourist campaign using the slogan, “Honestly, it’s not for everyone.”
I love this slogan, and I admire it.
Nebraska didn’t have much to lose from trying an unconventional strategy with this slogan, because travelers often rate Nebraska dead last, or almost last, among states they say they’re interested to visit. So Nebraska went with honesty!
This slogan is a great example of the fact that it’s often most effective to admit the truth, even when that truth might not be terribly flattering or impressive. Have a sense of humor, be willing to poke fun at yourself, and admit the facts.
Sometimes, too, what we consider a “bug” might also be a “feature.” Something that one person doesn’t appreciate or enjoy might be the very thing that someone else likes most.
This principle is illustrated by another terrific tourist advertisement, this one from the city of Oslo, the capital city of Norway.
The title of the ad is “Is it even a city?” In it, a handsome, 30-something guy, an Oslo native, says morosely, “I wouldn’t come here, to be honest.” He explains that he lives in Oslo, and describes what he doesn’t like about it, with remarks such as “You can just walk from one side of town to the other in, like, thirty minutes.” “Oslo feels more like a village, maybe. You walk around a corner, and it’s like, Oh, there’s the Prime Minister. Then you walk around the next corner, and it’s like, Oh, there’s the King.”
He’s shown sitting on a dock when someone joyfully cannonballs into the water. He recoils from the splash and says, “I don’t understand why people go swimming in the middle of the city. It’s disgusting.”
We see him sit down to a delicious meal in a lovely restaurant while he observes, “Sometimes I just walk right in off the street and get a table. And I’m not even famous. I mean, what does that tell you?”
This ad has proved hugely popular, with more than twenty million views.
The aspects of Oslo that he doesn’t like are the things that other people want to seek out.
There’s a lesson there for all of us. Instead of trying to jam ourselves into someone else’s mold, or trying to live up to a standard that doesn’t suit us, we can focus on what we offer—it may be just what someone is looking for.