Atlantic City Resumes Tourism Advertising Post-Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy interrupted a planned $6 million fall tourism marketing campaign to promote travel to Atlantic City, New Jersey. Beginning Tuesday, November 20, 2012, the Atlantic City Alliance is relaunching - in full force - the tourism recovery campaign to draw visitors immediately to the Jersey Shore resort town.

The popular "Do Anything, Do Everything, Do AC" campaign begins again but with a new television spot, a first-time national ad in the New York Times, and in-market and out-of-market events.

The revised Do AC advertising creative focuses on "welcoming" visitors back for holiday shopping and hotel deals. A new citywide value-oriented promotion around restaurants, spas and hotel packages will be announced soon.

Due to the hurricane's storm track, Atlantic City suffered minimal damage and reopened for business after five days. However, Atlantic City continues to see a lag in visitation and revenue due to the historic weather event.

The livelihoods of more than 40,000 employees in the 12 casino properties, plus hospitality industry workers at businesses catering to the tourism industry, depend on a strong visitor base.

Atlantic City's national image took a hit due to sensational, out-of-context and (at times) erroneous news reports about the famed Atlantic City Boardwalk, which is still intact and as beautiful as ever.

The campaign seeks to promote AC as "open for business" while being sensitive that nearby towns along New Jersey's shoreline sustained serious and long-term damage. According to new research data from a national poll conducted by New Jersey-based Russell Research for the Atlantic City Alliance, a stunning 41 percent of the American public believes the Atlantic City Boardwalk is destroyed (which is not true!).