New Tourism Ads To Proclaim Chicago 'Second To None'
UPDATED 06/28.11 9:30 a.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago's nickname is the Second City, but a new marketing campaign will tell prospective tourists it's second to none.
As WBBM Newsradio 780's Regine Schlesinger reports, Mayor Rahm Emanuel will be on hand Tuesday to unveil the initiative.
"Chicago: Second to None" is the slogan for the new $6 million campaign to draw more tourists and events to the city. The new slogan tweaks Chicago's image as the Second City and replaces "Make no little plans," a saying attributed to architect and urban planner Daniel Burnham.
One of the ads for the campaign reportedly leaves, "If our restaurants get any more stars, they'll qualify as a solar system," the Chicago Tribune reported.
Another ad calls Chicago "the city that ranks No. 1 in No. 1 rankings," and another says it lacks only "a museum of museums."
LISTEN: Newsradio 780's Regine Schlesinger reports
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The bureau is a nonprofit organization that draws its budget from tourism taxes and membership dues. Senior vice president Warren Wilkinson said its overall budget is increasing to $18 million for its coming fiscal year, up from about $15 million.
As part of the drive, the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau plans to reopen in the United Kingdom, Germany and Ireland that the State of Illinois once ran. Others are under consideration, bureau spokeswoman Meghan Risch said.
Money is coming from a recent doubling of the tax rate on taxi and bus companies that serve Chicago's airports. That was part of a broader bill that reformed operations at McCormick Place to make it cheaper to hold conventions there, but a federal judge has since struck down the labor provisions of the law.
The Chicago Sun-Times contributed to this report, via the Sun-Times Media Wire
