Virginia is For Lovers was established in 1969, 50 years ago, and has become one of the most beloved and well-known slogans in the world. While it has meant a lot of different things to a lot of different people, one thing hasn’t changed – the LOVE. In 2019, Virginia is celebrating 50 Years of Love with special experiences across the state.
Media Assets
50 Years of Love logos
50 Years of Love videos
3D LOVE artwork by Melanie Stimmell Van Latum images and video
Historic Virginia is for Lovers promotional materials
LOVEwork images
WHAT DOES VIRGINIA IS FOR LOVERS MEAN?
The phrase came from a creative team headed by George Woltz of Martin & Woltz Inc., the Richmond advertising agency that won the Virginia State Travel Service (now the Virginia Tourism Corporation, VTC) account in 1968. According to Martin, a $100-a-week copywriter named Robin McLaughlin came up with an advertising concept that read, “Virginia is for history lovers.” For a beach-oriented ad, the headline would have read, “Virginia is for beach lovers”; for a mountains ad, “Virginia is for mountain lovers,” and so on. Martin thought the approach might be too limiting. Woltz agreed, and the agency dropped the modifier and made it simply Virginia is for Lovers. VTC officially adopted the slogan in 1969.
HOW IS VTC CELEBRATING THE SLOGAN’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY?
Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC) will be leading a promotion during the summer of 2019. It will kick off the first day of summer – Friday, June 21, 2019 – and end the promotion 50 days later – Saturday, August 10, 2019. The campaign will be called 50 Years of Love.
50 YEARS OF LOVE GRANT
50 Years of Love will be celebrated all year across the Commonwealth with local promotions. VTC awarded grant funds to 39 Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) across the Commonwealth to help increase visitation and generate revenue. Awardees will host local activations in their localities – events, programs, special offerings – that will last 50 consecutive days. Each DMO has agreed to work with 10 or more local businesses.
VIRGINIA IS FOR LOVERS ACCOLADES
Virginia is for Lovers was inducted into the Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame on September 21, 2009. The slogan was included in the Advertising Icon Museum alongside fellow 2009 inductees, the AOL Running Man, the Budweiser Clydesdales, and State Farm’s Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm is There. This recognition came on the heels of Forbes.com tapping Virginia is for Lovers as one of the top ten tourism marketing campaigns of all time.
The History of Virginia is for Lovers
The Year was 1969
The timing was right in 1969 when the Virginia State Travel Service (now the Virginia Tourism Corporation, VTC) adopted what would become its world-renowned “Virginia is for Lovers” slogan. The Travel Service could not have known that the Yippies would become Yuppies — and later, Boomers — or that the Volkswagen microbus with the peace sign on the dashboard would give way to the station wagon as the official car of a generation, but they knew where the future was in tourism: a new generation of visitors.
A favorite book in 1969 was Erich Segal’s “Love Story.” Jacqueline Susann’s “The Love Machine” was a best seller. Henry Mancini scored with “Love Theme” from “Romeo and Juliet.” The Woodstock Music and Art Fair in 1969 drew more than 300,000 young people for a weekend of peace, music and mud. Given the tenor of the times, the roll-out of “Virginia is For Lovers” appealed to younger consumers who were the market of the future.
The Ad Agency
The phrase came from a creative team headed by George Woltz of Martin & Woltz Inc., the Richmond advertising agency that won the Virginia State Travel Service (VTC) account in 1968. According to Martin, a $100-a-week copywriter named Robin McLaughlin came up with an advertising concept that read, “Virginia is for history lovers.” For a beach-oriented ad, the headline would have read, “Virginia is for beach lovers”; for a mountains ad, “Virginia is for mountain lovers,” and so on. Martin thought the approach might be too limiting. Woltz agreed, and the agency dropped the modifier and made it simply Virginia is for Lovers. The new slogan debuted in a 1969 issue of “Modern Bride.”
The phrase was considered bold and provocative, but it was also just plain smart from a marketing perspective. It planted a seed — a new image of a more exciting Virginia — with a generation that would become the most sought-after group of spenders ever to wield a credit card.
Virginia is for Lovers Today
By popular vote, Virginia is for Lovers was inducted into the Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame on September 21, 2009. The slogan was included in the Advertising Icon Museum alongside fellow 2009 inductees, the AOL Running Man, the Budweiser Clydesdales, and State Farm’s “Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm is There.” This recognition came on the heels of Forbes.com tapping “Virginia is for Lovers” as one of the top ten tourism marketing campaigns of all time.
The Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame (located between 42nd and 50th streets in New York City) was created by Advertising Week, the largest gathering of advertising, media and marketing professionals in North America. The Grand Central Partnership and Advertising Week organizers have brought the Walk of Fame to life with a combination of bronze plaques and permanent lamppost street banners on Madison Avenue.
The Walk of Fame was created to celebrate great advertising icons and slogans, as well as recognize their business and role in brand building.
Virginia is for Lovers of . . .
No one knows exactly why “Virginia is for Lovers” has been so durable, but part of the mystique of the slogan is that it has meant many things to different people. Today, a new generation is discovering love for Virginia’s mountains, beaches, history, theme parks, vibrant cities, outdoor activities, sports and hospitality.
