The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority postponed all public activities surrounding the launch of its new advertising campaign following the death of Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and several others on board a helicopter that crashed in Calabasas, California.
The 60-second commercial announcing the new slogan aired right after Aerosmith’s performance at the 2020 Grammy Awards on ABC Sunday night. The new slogan – “What happens here, only happens here” – replaces the iconic “What happens here, stays here” tagline that has advertised the city since 2003.
In a statement, the LVCVA said the advertisement was already placed in rotation during the Grammys and could not be withdrawn, so it ran as previously scheduled.
“As many are aware, we were prepared to launch the newest advertising campaign for Las Vegas during the Grammys telecast,” LVCVA CEO Steve Hill said in a statement. “In light of today’s tragic accident that claimed the lives of Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and others on board, we are postponing any activity planned on the Las Vegas Strip until a future date. The hearts of everyone in Las Vegas are with the families and friends of those lost, with all of Los Angeles and with his fans around the world.”
According to the LVCVA, the tourism community put on hold plans for marquee displays on the Strip that would have reflected the new slogan once it was revealed.
The Eiffel Tower at Paris Las Vegas and the High Roller observation were to have changed colors, new lights were to come on at the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign, and “pop up” Instagram opportunities were planned for The Cosmopolitan, McCarran International Airport, the Bellagio fountains, The Linq Promenade, Grand Canal Shoppes, The Venetian, and Wynn Las Vegas.
Instead, the LVCVA asked resorts to display a message in the Lakers’ purple color scheme that read, “L.A., OUR HEARTS GO OUT TO YOU.” with a #RIPKOBE hashtag.
Bryant was a frequent visitor to Las Vegas during his career.
He was the MVP of the NBA All-Star basketball game in 2007 when the contest was held at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.
He played on the U.S. Olympic teams that would train in the city and the Los Angeles Lakers played several preseason games in Las Vegas venues. In the past year, Bryant and his daughters attended games of the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces, which plays home games at Mandalay Bay.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming Reports. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgaming.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
