Tourism Board Suggests: “Embrace the Hostility, It’s What Makes Us Special”
Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat report on NYC’s latest rebranding initiative: making rudeness seem intentional.
The Marketing Pivot
The NYC Tourism Board has officially decided that the city’s reputation for rudeness isn’t a flaw. It’s a feature. New York isn’t hostile. It’s “authentically direct.” New Yorkers aren’t rude. They’re “efficiently communicative.” It’s a PR move of staggering genius.
The New York Times covered the campaign: “Come to New York. Experience Genuine Rudeness. Get Yelled at. It’s Authentic.” The tourism board is basically saying: “We’re terrible to people, but it’s on purpose, so it’s fine.”
The Rudeness Examples
New York Post documented typical NYC rudeness:
Taxi drivers honking for 30 seconds continuously
Strangers criticizing your outfit
Restaurant servers acting annoyed you’re ordering
Subway passengers elbowing for position without apology
People stopping abruptly in your walking path
Noise levels that suggest people are intentionally trying to annoy
The Reframing
New York Daily News reported on the tourism board’s reframing:
Rudeness = Authenticity
Hostility = Confidence
Aggression = Honesty
Complete lack of consideration = Individuality
“If you get yelled at in New York, you’re not being disrespected. You’re experiencing Culture. With a capital C.”
The Results
Gothamist reported that the marketing campaign is working. Tourists are now coming specifically to experience NYC rudeness. They get yelled at and feel like they’ve had an “authentic New York experience.” The city is profiting from its worst quality.
The Philosophical Question
The City posed the question: at what point does acknowledging something you can’t change become marketing? NYC can’t become friendly. So it’s marketing its unfriendliness as a feature. It’s brilliant and terrible simultaneously.
The Local Response
“I hate this,” one NYC resident said. “They’re saying my city is rude and calling it character. I’m rude because I live in a terrible place and it makes me irritable. Now tourists come expecting me to be rude. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. We’ve become the thing we hated.”
For more satirical takes on city culture and tourism, visit Reductress and Clickhole for commentary on marketing your worst qualities.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/