NDSU Ad (schools, universities, land)

[601halfdozen0theother]

So, NDSU has an ad which is playing on tv here in Minnesota. It seems so odd to me! It flashes 3 sentence fragments on screen:

Student Focused
Land Grant
Research University

The first and third make sense to advertise, but - Land Grant? Yes, I know what "land grant" means and why NDSU is a land grant university, but who among the population considering going to college would have the slightest clue what Land Grant means? And why is it worth spending tv time advertising that? Many, many state universities are land grant universities.

Yes, I know that these are the "Key Messages" of the University (I looked it up), but I dunno, the ad itself just struck me as an odd use of tv time/money. Why not spend the same 10 seconds stressing "practical professional education", or "excellent at science and engineering", or "well respected" or "affordable" instead of "land grant". Why spend the time and money focusing on a sentence fragment that would mean very little to the average viewer?

???

[dutchinnd]

Unless part of the ad ploy is not just to attract students, but also reinforce with donors/alumni--and currently legislators in session--that it is still connected to the community through extension, etc.

[fourwinds]

NDSU grads are so proud of their land grant status. In their eyes, it puts them on equal status with Minnesota, Iowa St, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and other land grant schools. Every state has at least one land grant. But NDSU isn't the flagship school, as some schools are both flagship and land grant. Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois would need never advertise as a land grant school, as it demeans the rest of it.