Because Nevada was behind the national curve in overturning bans on gay marriage, it has also lost out on its traditional first position as a wedding mecca. Hawaii and Chicago lead it in numbers of gay marriages performed. Even so, the emphasis in marketing is not upon marriage but in reinventing Las Vegas as a gay-friendly destination. As mentioned yesterday, Caesars Entertainment and MGM were early leaders in that field.
When the state Supreme Court overturned Nevada’s same-sex marriage ban, the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority took out a full-page ad in USA Today hailing the decision hailing the decision. However, the vast bulk of the LVCVA’s efforts (which are supported by a $1.6 million budget) are dedicated toward branding Vegas broadly as a place for gays to come and enjoy. To this end, the LVCVA cut a TV spot, The Check Out, as part of its "What Happens Here" ad blitz. The commercial ran on the E! and Bravo channels. "The addition of an LGBT spot to the 'What Happens Here' campaign was a natural next step," Senior Vice President of Marketing Cathy Tull said at the time. "Las Vegas' campaigns are based on adult freedom and encouraging visitors to experience that freedom first hand."
The LVCVA also sponsored an interactive billboard in the San Francisco and Los Angeles Pride parades: "The billboard … displayed a rainbow Pride flag hidden beneath an array of matching Las Vegas-branded metallic shorts, spanning the colors of the rainbow." Show your support, come away with a pair of shorts. The Authority also has a gay-targeted page on its LasVegas.com Web site. The LVCVA is no Johnny-come-lately to the gay-friendly movement, having been marketing to gay customers for the past five years, mostly on digital platforms, targeting LGBT-oriented sites. One of the campaigns was cheekily branded, "Everyone’s welcome, even straight people."
The LVCVA got the endorsement of GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis, who said, "The Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority has a long history of actively supporting equality through groundbreaking advertising and community initiatives." Meanwhile, MGM, Caesars, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, and Wynn Resorts all achieved perfect Corporate Equality scores from the LGBT-focused Human Rights Campaign. (MGM pledged $300,000 to the construction fund of The Gay & Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada.)
"We welcome all guests," said Cosmopolitan spokeswoman Samantha Grimes, while Caesars’ Chandra Knee was more elaborate, saying, "Here at Caesars Entertainment, we welcome LGBT couples at all of our Las Vegas venues and chapels including the High Roller [Ferris wheel] and offer all our packages to same-sex couples."
When the United States Supreme Court legalized gay marriage nationwide, last June 26, The Gun Store's officiant took a night off from nuptials and gunplay to preside over same-sex weddings at Arts District bar Artifice. "Even though same sex marriage has been legal for a few months in Nevada, I wanted to make a push and give back. There were so many people who were denied that right for so long. I thought it was time to celebrate," she told the Las Vegas Sun, as the High Roller and Las Vegas’ City Hall were awash in rainbow-colored lighting.
Most wedding-chapel managers went with the flow. Little White Wedding Chapel owner Charolette Richards told the Sun, "Sexual orientation doesn’t matter. I am not the judge of anyone." "For us, it's sort of business as usual," said Ron DeCar, owner of the Viva Las Vegas wedding chapel, the only gay-owned venue of its kind in town, with a history of 16 years of commitment ceremonies. "For us, I would say 10 to 20 percent of our business is that naturally." DeCar’s adjacent events center even experimented with an interactive lesbian dinner show, Joni & Gina’s Wedding, staged by Vegas theatrical impresario Troy Heard. "We launched the show before the ban repeal because the conditions were right," says Heard. "It was a sixth sense that LGBT was going to be the next wave for Vegas. Lo and behold we were right," although not enough to keep the show afloat.
Tomorrow, we conclude with Part III: Gay marriage meets some resistance in Sin City and resorts diversify their appeal.
