[baystater]

Originally Posted by mackinac81

Has anybody seen the "Pure Michigan" ads lately?

I saw one at the Secretary of state's office today and I got goosebumps just watching it. Michigan is truly one of the most underrated states in the country. We could EASILY become a northern tourist mecca (like Maine) if we worked hard enough to market the state.

I, for one, am glad that we finally realized that people outside Wisconsin and Chicago know next to nothing about MI, and that we need to start telling people. It would be a major shot in the arm for the economy.

Originally Posted by cardwellave

I'm curious as to how much airtime these ads get outside of Michigan. I hope a lot.

View Our Ads - Pure Michigan Travel

I contacted a Representative of pure Michigan through it website Friday and got this email back this morning.

Thank you for writing Travel Michigan about our ads. The voice is Tim
Allen, a native of Michigan, from Tool Time and the music is the theme
from the movie "Cider House Rules". To view all the ads go to:
View Our Ads - Pure Michigan Travel.

Currently we are only advertising in Chicago, Cleveland, Cincinnati,
Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Southern Ontario and in-state Michigan.

Once you visit Michigan, you might want to share your experience with
others at: Pure Michigan Experiences - Pure Michigan Travel.

Thank you again and enjoy your visit to Pure Michigan.

[Eastender67]

I started to realize about 15 years ago, that people viewed Michigan as a "Backwards, Hillbilly place."

Not so! Unlike Johnny Carson, Jay Leno has no class and his idea of a joke is that same, 2-bit gutter-talk night after night. He's so bad that I'll be glad when Conan takes over and, if you've watched Conan, you know that is desperation. He'd have said something similar to Tim Allen had Tim been born in L.A. So, don't pay that jerk any mind.

As for Michigan, never set foot there but my thoughts always are of big, beautiful woods, clear water lakes and Big 10 football. Good things. So Detroit has some problems right now but all cities do at some time or another. I sometimes dream of owning a small cabin on one of those lakes in Michigan or Wisconsin. Michigan Rednecks? No way.

[Chippery]

IMHO it depends on the time of year. If somebody was visiting in March or late october for example - this place is dull/dead. But, that's also one of the great characteristics of MI is that mother nature sheds her leaves, and grows fresh CLEAN ones soon after. The southern states can't exactly say the same thing, except when a forest fire burns through.

To me, things that make the state appear ugly are:
1.) Poor local government visuals (tall grass in medians, poor code enforcement, weeds growing between sidewalks and road, spray painted signs...)
2.) Too much cement in the cities (Usually broken and it creates a hot oven inside the city) and the litter on the side of the freeways.
3.) Use landscaping! Seriously, will it kill a homeowner to put up a border around their grass/weed beds? And a yard full of 1 foot tall decorations do not count as landscaping. This is pretty close to the hillbilly comments others have made in previous posts.

Detroit has always ranked low on my list for visual appeal because of ....well a million things. But I will admit that ONE night I got a glimps of the city from I75 going south, and it was actually quite amazing.

[Tex?Il?]

Originally Posted by baystater

Haven't seen them here in the northeast. Shame to. Most of them are really well done. Of course right now with the economy as it is I'm not sure how many people are going to have the money to travel. But those commercials if they actually do take them national would at least get some folk to come and maybe stay in the end.

I think people (at least from Chicagoland area) having less money to travel, might be good for Michigan tourism. If you can't afford a trip to Vegas, Disneyworld, Colorado skiing, etc one can Go somewhere much closer to, to the L. Michigan beach towns.

Seriously the fact that Michigan has not had the vacation destination advertised the way New England (Maine, Vermont, Cape Cod) has on the east coast is too bad. But its only a matter of time.

[odinloki1]

Michigan is the prettiest place I've been in. I'm biased though. I hope there isn't so much advertising as a vacation spot, I want to move back and have peace and quiet and the company of my fellow Michiganders.

[CrowGirl]

I grew up in Michigan and have lived in a number of other states....currently Florida. Yes we have lots of subshine down here and palm trees and all of that but in many ways I really miss Michigan. I miss the trees and the lakes and the occasional hill .

[Constitutionally Speaking]

Originally Posted by cowcat

MI is beautiful, the people for the most part are not. Way too many xenophobic, provincial, ignorant people here. For every progressive person that moves here, ten locals of this ilk move away to the Coasts or Chicago, leaving a growing ignoramus population. I think that's what Leno was playing at. Doesn't matter whether they're black, white, democrat, republican here in MI. You get both the I've-read-Adam-Smith-so-I-think-I'll-make-an-ass-of-myself-by-being-an-arrogant-know-it-all-Republihick and the foreigners-are-stealing-our-$80/hour-janitorial-jobs-so-vote-for-Hilary-even-though-I'm-too-dumb-to-realize-Bill-passsed-NAFTA-demohick.

Why would you say something so hateful and obviously ignorant? Michigan is full of wonderful people - people who know the values of hard work and honesty. Of COURSE there are some ignorant people and some people who seem to always cast dispersions toward people that are not like them. Gee, I'm sorry, I didn't meant to implicate you there, I only meant to defend the good people of this state.

[Giesela]

Originally Posted by Tex?Il?

I think people (at least from Chicagoland area) having less money to travel, might be good for Michigan tourism. If you can't afford a trip to Vegas, Disneyworld, Colorado skiing, etc one can Go somewhere much closer to, to the L. Michigan beach towns.

Seriously the fact that Michigan has not had the vacation destination advertised the way New England (Maine, Vermont, Cape Cod) has on the east coast is too bad. But its only a matter of time.

This has already been the case forever. Half (ok I don't know exact numbers) the property on Lake Michigan (Traversity City etc) is owned by rich Chicagoans (remember the movie American Pie?). Here in Ohio people are always going to "my families hunting cabin in Michigan". I've only been here a year and I don't understand why I never hear "I'm going to my hunting cabin in WV" since its just as close.
Michigan golf courses, snowmobiling - FCOL a native can't get up and down I75 on weekend now.
I personally would rather see real jobs, with decent pay and benefits, come to Michigan than sell out to low paying tourism jobs for the rich.
I make pretty good money and I can't afford an acreage hunting cabin or a house on a lake. Why sell it all to outsiders?

[reverberation]

Michigan is a very beautiful State - and the UP is unlike anything else - but Detroit and some areas of Metro-Detroit are indeed very ugly. However, in comparison to Texas, funny, but I take the exact opposite position of the last poster - I found Texas to be extremely ugly and miserably, insanely hot for far too many months out of the year, and I would take the variety of weather & natural beauty here ANY day over it. As one of my friends living in San Antonio put it: "if you are imagining that lots of heat & sun are some kind of good thing, you obviously haven't lived in the southwest, or lived here long enough".

For me, I've fully come around to seeing our winters as beautiful, like I did when I was a child (it feel's like nature's a/c to me - I just wear a winter jacket & hat and enjoy it!). At least in our winter, you can dress up and still go out and enjoy things. In Texas, good luck going out at all in that extreme summer heat....there is no escaping it, other than laying in a pool all day/sitting inside an air conditioned place all day. In comparison, I love the 4 seasons we have, the 13,000 lakes, the endless green (something you WILL miss in the southwest), and I can tell you that the beauty of our Fall season is perhaps unmatched anywhere else in the USA.

[Stone28]

I'm from Jersey and have never ben to MI. I certainly do not picture MI to be ugly and dreary. I have always thought of MI as a great place to go boating and I would imagin there must be awesome waterfront homes. Plus your up there by Canada there must be beautiful sceanic areas.

I'm sure you also have your dumps like everywhere else. If you want to see ugly and dreary just turn the boob tube on and look at Jay Leno.