“I’se da b’y dat eyes Dubai,” sez Premier Andy Furey.
“I wants deir docs to grab deir socks and cum to shitty wedder.
“I'll sing a song to poach dem all
“But VRBO, you do better.”
Someone give Andy Furey and his tourism minister Steve Crocker a political clue.
Fred Hutton might have dropped a loose one in his office on the 8th Floor. Da b’ys can split it between ‘en so the next time they won’t get suckered into a performative political display over nothing.
Like a song in a tv spot not about anything to do with Newfoundland and Labrador.
Please. Go in Fred’s office. Look under the cushions in the love seat if you have to, but tell the pair the VRBO commercial never hurt nar ting back home.
Not a thing.
At all.
Full stop.
The company used a song from Newfoundland and Labrador about building a boat to accompany pictures of a tent, chickens, and a big wooden barn that in no way have any real or imagined connection to a province that famously markets itself as a rustic place untouched by modern conveniences.
Like sense.
Or a clue.
Even half a clue.
Or a grain.
Crocker got the VRBO b’ys on da phone and then released a statement via social media.
Furey followed with a scolding:
Hey @vrbo. Newfoundland and Labrador has so much to offer your customers, and tourists from all over the world - including our rich musical history. Your ad is not an accurate representation of our province, our culture, or our people. Be better!
He added a link to a tourism video that dropped a bunch of stock shots from tourism spots in front of someone singing The Song.
Giant stunt.
Marketing nonsense of the first order.
What makes the whole thing worse than just some marketers brain fart is that Furey and Crocker just got back from a quick stop in London, England where they pretended that a few WestJet flights this summer, paid for by the taxpayers of Newfoundland and Labrador, will do anything to boost tourism from Europe to the farthest east in North America anyone can get and stay on dry land.
It’s not like this did them any good politically, either. No one outside of a handful of hand-wringers from Newfoundland - or people who make a buck off tourism - felt anything about the VRBO ad at all, let alone think that it was a slight on the province. It is 100% a made-up offense.
Nor did Crocker and Furey do anything about the video except give VRBO lots of extra coverage while branding themselves as political hicks.
Not that the pair are anything close to Machiavellian for this to be a distraction, mind you but Furey is probably relieved no one is asking him who paid for his trip to Montreal for talks with Quebec Premier Francois Legault, who paid for the Habs game tickets, or what the pair talked about. It was official business, apparently, so Furey won’t be able to deploy the old “my time, my dime” dodge like when he was last caught at something or even claim his wife paid for the whole trip to Montreal as a nearly-Valentine’s-Day gift.
No. Not any plot by anyone.
Just a couple of politicians who either got really bad advice or - way worse - couldn’t tell they got bad advice. If they thought this was a good idea, well… we don't need to go there.
After all, if *this* petty stuff gets them excited, Andy and Steve must still lose their minds every time they drive by a Nissan dealership.
Remember this 18 year old car spot?
The fact Steve and Andy don’t get upset about “Newfie” anything and stayed quiet all through Jimmy Kimmel’s Dildo period tells you just exactly how meaningless a thing Furey and Crocker’s little display over our sacred province really is.