Southerners Beware: Oil Spill Ads Coming

If you live in the South you should prepare yourself for a deluge of TV ads featuring the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The AP is reporting today that tourism officials along the coast are asking BP PLC to pay $7.5 million a month for a national ad campaign targeted at overcoming the negative coverage of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The report said the focus will be on casinos, entertainment and family attractions -- not the beaches.

The targeted markets are Atlanta, Birmingham, Tampa-St. Petersburg, Jackson, Miss., Charlotte, Memphis, Nashville and Dallas.

I've never been to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Spent plenty of time in the coastal communities of Alabama and Florida, though, and from a lot of reports from those communities that I've been reading they are having to battle the negative news.

I've seen Facebook postings from Florida resorts showing pictures taken today showing the beautiful beaches and clear water. The state is in full spin mode trying to get the message out that things are all clear there.

I wonder as the weeks go on and we enter the busy summer season if travelers will trust the messages or if they'll just vacation elsewhere. I also wonder if Florida and Alabama will follow suit on the TV ad campaign.

The next few weeks should be interesting to follow.