Premier Gary Doer is currently studying a proposal to replace the controversial Spirited Energy ad campaign with a new one to promote Manitoba to the rest of the world, a co-chair of Doer’s Economic Advisory Council said Monday.
Robert Ziegler, president of the local United Food and Commercial Workers union, said advisory council members recently proposed to Doer’s office a new board be created to carry on its work spiffing up Manitoba’s image to businesses and tourists.
Ziegler also said a funding request has also been made to the province to help the new board get up and running, but that nothing has been decided.
The 35-member premier’s advisory council, made up of business, labour and other community leaders, created the Spirited Energy campaign almost four years ago. But the $3.1-million project to “re-brand” Manitoba soon fizzled as it failed to catch on.
Ziegler said the advisory council wants a new campaign as it’s important to promote the province outside of provincial boundaries.
He said the proposal now before Doer’s office calls for groups that are already individually involved in promoting the province to run the new campaign together.
That could include the Winnipeg Airport Authority, Destination Winnipeg, Travel Manitoba and the Chambers of Commerce, he said.
“Everyone has some sort of message on their agenda at different times,” he said.
Ziegler would not comment on the amount of the funding request.
The Spirited Energy campaign was unveiled to great fanfare in June 2006, but slowly petered out as the new slogan for Manitoba. It was designed to sell the province for business investment, a good place for young people to live and as a tourist destination.
Critics said Spirited Energy lacked focus and wasn’t as succinct or as clever as “Friendly Manitoba.”
Last October Manitoba’s auditor general released a report that found only one glitch with the Spirited Energy campaign during her financial review. Auditor General Carol Bellringer said the only notable mistake was a contract for TV-ad production worth $262,000 awarded to a local firm without being tendered or publicly reported.
The province suspended all new spending on Spirited Energy last February when the audit began. It has not been renewed.
Spirited Energy’s website also appears to be at least a year out-of-date as it still features Canadian Football League ex-Commissioner Tom Wright talking about Winnipeg when it hosted the Grey Cup in 2006. Wright was replaced by Toronto businessman Mark Cohon as commissioner a year ago.
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