Columnist Jeff German: Some of us actually live ‘here’

Wednesday, June 9, 2004 | 11:51 a.m.

Jeff German's column appears Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays in the Sun. Reach him at german@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4067.

Las Vegas may be a hot commodity in tourism circles, but the debate over the merits of the edgy marketing campaign that helped create that national buzz is getting hot, too.

On Tuesday the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority Board, without even saying a word, made it clear that its much talked-about "What happens here, stays here" campaign, which attempts to capture the essence of our Sin City roots, isn't going to go away anytime soon.

The board unanimously selected Hard Rock Hotel President Kevin Kelley to fill a vacant seat on the panel. Kelley has landed in the doghouse with gaming regulators over the Hard Rock's newspaper and billboard ads that are considered racier than the LVCVA's television spots.

His appointment brought out critics of the LVCVA's advertising campaign who, for the first time in the escalating fight, vented their anger on the LVCVA's home turf.

Cristi Bulloch, of the Nevada Association of American Mothers Inc., a group that focuses on family issues, called the "What happens here, stays here" slogan a "catchy phrase full of innuendo -- enough innuendo to communicate to the world that Las Vegas has a desensitized morality."

Bulloch said the LVCVA Board probably couldn't have predicted the "dirty ball that this campaign has started to roll." But she added: "It seems a shame to build a whole advertising campaign to promote the raunchiest of activities."

Attorney Michael Wixom, of the Main Street Billboard Committee, a citizens group recently formed to fight adult-themed public advertising, asked the LVCVA to start considering the "law of unintended consequences" of the marketing campaign.

How will it affect the city's longtime efforts to diversify its economy? Will businesses be discouraged from setting up shop in a community perceived as having low standards of decency? What kind of social impact will the campaign have on the community and its children? And will it ultimately cause the unthinkable -- upstanding visitors to stay away?

The board, which includes elected officials and members of the business community, listened politely as the campaign's opponents raised questions. But it couldn't adjourn the meeting fast enough when the speakers finished.

Afterwards, Rossi Ralenkotter, who takes over the helm of the LVCVA next month, had trouble seeing the potential longterm effects of the campaign, which The New York Times, in its series on Las Vegas stereotypes, called "wildly successful."

The campaign's slogan has become part of pop culture in America. Even First Lady Laura Bush referred to it during a recent appearance on Jay Leno's "Tonight Show."

The buzz about Las Vegas, Ralenkotter said, is bigger than ever.

But, as Bulloch wondered at the conclusion of her remarks, is it costing us our pride?

"There is a community at large in Las Vegas that cares about "What happens here, stays here," Bulloch said. "Because we are the 'here' -- the workers, the families of this community."