National Geographic looked at a few less-than successful civic ad campaigns and found them lacking (Baltimore’s “Find Your Happy Place” featuring a whole 250 people gathered on their Inner Harbor; or “Jersey Doesn’t Stink,” spurred by bad PR from shows like “Real Housewives of New Jersey,” and “Jersey Shore”).
But Cleveland’s viral-video response to the “Hastily Made Video” phenomenon was applauded by National Geographic:
The videos attracted over 2 million views on YouTube and prompted a reaction from Positively Cleveland, the official convention and visitors bureau, which sponsored their own “Hastily Made Tourism Video Contest” to promote the charms of the maligned city, and posted the winning videos on their site. Cheers to Positively Cleveland for turning the prank to their advantage.