Corporate Nevada plans to spread the word on diversity

Thursday, Feb. 2, 2006 | 8:42 a.m.

A group of casinos and organizations representing restaurants and hotels in Nevada is mounting a campaign to spread a message across the Las Vegas Valley.

The message: diversity is good.

The campaign's objective is "to promote a sense of community," said Punam Mather, senior vice president of corporate diversity and community affairs for MGM Mirage.

Lesley Pittman, spokeswoman for Station Casinos, said the idea is "to celebrate differences ... and promote tolerance."

The businesses involved still haven't decided how to get that message across, but everything from billboards to company newsletters is being considered.

Experts on media and local history said the move is a first and full of meaning about the valley and its growth.

Perhaps not coincidentally, it comes as another group, this one made up of local governments, advocates and Metro Police, decided last month to launch its own campaign to "raise awareness" about homelessness in the valley.

"It's a sign of change ... and that we're starting to look at quality of life issues instead of just economic development issues," said Paul J. Traudt, associate professor of media studies at UNLV.

Michael Green, a professor of history at CCSN, said it "reflects an effort (in Las Vegas) to mature."

The idea of spreading ideas through the valley through advertising is fitting, given the history of Las Vegas, Green said.

"It says something about the power of PR in our community," he said.

"We've always used advertising to sell an image to the world. From the cheesecake of the '50s to 'What happens here stays here,' if we can sell Las Vegas to the rest of the world, maybe we can sell diversity to ourselves."

Mather said she and others have been discussing the idea for about five months.

Input has been gathered from a range of people along the way, including Geronimo Gutierrez Fernandez, Mexico's undersecretary for North America.

Gutierrez, who visited Las Vegas for the first time Monday, said he hoped the campaign would "foster greater tolerance toward ... immigrants."

He said that he was observing with interest the growth of groups locally that focus on immigration.

"I am very concerned that anti-immigrant sentiment will complicate things for our people here. ... The contributions of Mexicans should be highlighted in this campaign."

At the same time, he said, the Mexican government is not promoting the campaign.

Mather said the ideas being discussed are "broader" than the specific issue of immigration or immigrants, however.

"We all know this is a community that's come from elsewhere," Mather said. "But there's no sense of community ... and that gets in our way."

At the same time, she said, if the campaign "can help create a community that doesn't tolerate prejudice or hatred ... then that's a by-product."

Green and Traudt both said one sector of the valley's population may be more important to reach than others -- the Clark County School District's 292,000 children.

"How you sell this idea to children is important," Green said. "If you're bringing kids into this, you're setting the table for the future."

Traudt said a basic challenge the casinos and others will face is whether advertising and public relations can be used to sell an idea in the first place -- as opposed to a product.

"Advertisers will tell you what they're trying to do is convert people who have bought into the desirability of a product and convince you that their brand is best," he said.

"(But) when you get into deeply held beliefs, attitudes and values related to things like race, culture and ethnic identity, it's extremely difficult to influence your ideas."

Timothy Pratt can be reached at 259-8828 or at timothy@lasvegassun.com.