When we looked into this subject we discovered, somewhat to our surprise, that McCarran International Airport has actually been using Strip headliners to make announcements since the early 1970s, with some of the original recognizable-voice contributors having included Dick Clark, Rodney Dangerfield, Rich Little, Phyllis Diller, and Bill Cosby, all of whom provided their services free of charge as they reminded passengers to stand to the right on the moving walkways so that those in a hurry could rush past them on the left. As airport director Randall Walker explained to USA Today, the messages were "all funny and clever. The whole concept [was] to grab people's attention. If people don't pay attention, then it has no effect."
Evidently, it did have the desired effect, since in 2004 McCarran teamed up with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and became the first airport in the land to work with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and offer customized security-information videos, also starring stars of the Strip. The list of participants who participated over the years in these entertaining comedy vignettes for the Traveler Information Pre-screening Series (or "TIPS" program) aimed at educating passengers on how to correctly pass through the security checkpoints, have included: Wayne Newton; Rita Rudner; Carrot Top; Louie Anderson; Bette Midler; Blue Man Group; and cast members from various Cirque du Soleil productions, Excalibur's Tournament of Kings show, and the former Star Trek Experience attraction.
Talk about grabbing attention, one of the best remembered of this crop featured the Star Trek group passing through security check while a female agent says, "Excuse me sir. Sir. Excuse me sir." so clearly that male travelers were constantly stopping and looking back because they thought they were being addressed.
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then another indication that the concept proved to be a success in Las Vegas is the fact that it has since been adopted by other airports, including Nashville Airport, where in 2008 country music singer Lee Ann Womack provided the welcome message to those entering the city. A host of artists, including Tim McGraw, Kristian Bush, and Darius Rucker, have since provided the voices for 30 public service announcements (PSAs) at the facility, covering everything from health tips to TSA rules.
Ben Gibbard of the band Death Cab for Cutie is one of the notable voices delivering PSAs at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, along with rapper Macklemore and grunge legend Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains, who reminds travelers that "smoking is allowed on the lower drive outside the building and only in designated areas … Bummer, dude." In Branson, Mo., more than 80 local performers, including Jim Stafford, Andy Williams, and the Lennon Sisters, have recorded welcome videos.
Still, by 2011 Vegas Inc. columnist Rich Velotta suggested that McCarran's pioneering messages were getting somewhat tired and dated and perhaps were in need of an update -- after all, the Star Trek Experience at the former Las Vegas Hilton had been closed since 2008!
It wasn't until 2014, however, that a new batch of eight videos was rolled out, some of which feature new skits by previous contributors, including the Blue Men and Carrot Top, while fresh faces include impersonator Frank Marino, magicians Murry Sawchuck and Jeff Civillico, comedian George Wallace, cast members of Raiding the Rock Vault, and ventriloquist Terry Fator. These are all still in use, while an even more recent development, earlier this year, was the introduction of additional "welcome" messages recorded by musicians and performers closely associated with Las Vegas, including hometown boys Imagine Dragons, Strip headliners like Britney Spears and Donnie & Marie Osmond, and Mr. Las Vegas himself, Wayne Newton.
As a post script, if you've heard PSAs being broadcast using a familiar but non-celebrity voice, it likely belongs to Carolyn Hopkins, a voiceover artist from Louisville, KY who, since 1989, has provided announcements for more than 200 airports worldwide, not to mention Disney attractions, subway stops, train stations, weather alerts, and more thanks to her calming and dulcet tones. As the 67-year-old church-goer puts it, "Traveling can be such a bummer nowadays that people need a friendly voice."
