Kazakhstan. “Very Nice”? Very Smart.
Credit: CIA.gov
I don’t know what Kazakhstan, the “democratic” republic in Central Asia, was known for before Sacha Baron Cohen released his 2006 movie “Borat,” which depicted a bumbling Kazak journalist filming his interactions with Americans. The mockumentary became a box-office smash and a sequel, “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” was just released to similar praise (though not everyone thinks so). But a funny thing happened in the 14-year journey from Borat to Borat II, the government of Kazakhstan, which initially denounced the film, has now embraced the movie’s catchphrase “Very Nice” as the nation’s tourism slogan. Very smart.
It got me to thinking about other iconic tourism catchphrases and just how important they are in our culture and decisions to travel. As a kid in New York, I grew up with the “I Love New York” slogan (better depicted as I ❤ NY logo along with the distinct song) that was developed in the mid-1970s. Tt was so successful that the phrase and logo spawned countless imitations. “Ever since, thousands of different iterations have been created by other brands, retailers and organizations. The “I Love..” phrase has become a staple in souvenir shops and stores across the globe. As a result, the state of New York has filed more than 3,000 objections,” wrote Design Rush in a Medium piece.
Another iconic tourism slogan, “Virginia is For Lovers,” was created in the late 1960s and is, apparently, the longest running slogan in the U.S. “You can go about anywhere on the planet from the U.K. to China, or California to New York and you say ‘Virginia,’ and I think people will say back to you ‘is for lovers,’” Virginia Tourism’s Caroline Logan told WTOP in 2018. Other tourism slogans may not have the same cachet though some like “You’ve Got a Friend in Pennsylvania” or “Whatever Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas” may be familiar and appealing. (Take a look at Frommer’s list of 15 favorite phrases. The Guardian has mapped a nice rundown of such slogans around the globe.)
But let’s return to Kazakhstan. What may set the country’s new “Very Nice” slogan from other tourism phrases is that it did not engage expensive ad agencies to develop it. An entrepreneurial American expat smartly usurped the film’s catchphrase and incorporated it into slick ads, according to the New York Times piece. But, in 2016, Kazakh writer Yerlan Askarbekov wrote that his fellow countrymen had a complicated relationship with the movie and was already changing its tune about it. “The government began various efforts to change the PR narrative,” he wrote. “I was involved in that work several times, and I can say that absolutely all high-ranking officials in Kazakhstan understood that they should not be offended by the movie. The main objective they discussed was how to exploit such an unexpected spotlight on the country.”
The Kazakh government realized, Askarbekov added, that “Borat” might be a boon for the nation. “Baron Cohen was mentioned in a session of Kazakhstan’s parliament by the foreign affairs minister of the time, Yerzhan Kazykhanov: ‘With the picture’s release, Kazakhstan increased the number of visas it issues by 10 times. This is a great victory, and I am grateful to Borat for attracting tourists to Kazakhstan.’” Again, very smart.
