When word spread last year that the City Council had approved $19,800 in economic development funds for Fayetteville to be highlighted on an infomercial hosted by Terry Bradshaw of NFL fame, residents had no idea what to expect.
As of Monday, anyone whose curiosity was piqued can now take a look at the completed segment of “Today in America” which Mayor Jordan said will bring Fayetteville national exposure and hopefully attract businesses to set up shop here.
The five-minute spot, which characterizes Fayetteville as “one of America’s best-kept secrets,” discusses some of the national acclaim the city has recently received, highlights the Fayetteville Forward economic development summit, and includes interviews with UA officials, Chamber of Commerce President Steve Clark, and Mayor Lioneld Jordan.
Watch at accessfayetteville.org
The segment will be shown nationally on February 26 at 3 p.m. central time on the Fox Business Network. It will also be shown in 19 regional markets over the next few months, said Communication Director Lindsley Smith.
The project began after one of the show’s producers contacted city staff last summer to feature Fayetteville in their upcoming segment, “America’s Best Hidden Gem Environments for Business.”
The money for the venture came from the economic development fund and the agreement gave the city editorial control over the script, the footage and the final product.
Allowing a third party to create the segment, gives the project more credibility than if the city put it together, said Don Marr, the mayor’s chief of staff.
Now that it is complete, staff has access to the footage for promotional use.
» Watch the segment at accessfayetteville.org (Also embedded below)
What a waste of money. 3 pm on a Saturday, tons of veiwership.
Well, we wouldn’t want to lose our “best-kept secret” status all at once, would we? Let’s hold on to the dream for as long as we can.
what a joke- Terry Bradshaw? here is the message this sends to me- this municipality wants to make itself look attractive to prosperous growth so lets have some old quarterback who hardly ever makes any sense tell everybody how awesome the city is! WINNER!
I’ll have you know his CD of Christmas songs is magnificent.
Terry Bradshaw sounds very sophisticated compared to our mayor.
Don’t make fun of Don, I mean Lioneld.
Flag on the play for unsportsmanlike conduct…15-yard penalty, first down.
Your wrong I like it….
Embarrassing.
All criticism towards this is warranted.
It’s not bad- Bradshaw wouldn’t have been my first choice but he does sound authentic considering the spot is promoting a small city in Arkansas. He also deflects some of the attention the mayor’s accent would have garnered. Hopefully the commercial can be used in other ways after it has aired.
I like the concept of this video but the Football part is really awful. The video quality is also really fuzzy. It would be good to see more clear images of the town and less of people holding clipboards in generic offices. The accents need to be toned down because they distract from the good things that are happening here.
The time to address the “accents” was in the last mayoral election.
I still can’t believe we elected this administration over what we had.
“Allowing a third party to create the segment, gives the project more credibility than if the city put it together, said Don Marr, the mayor’s chief of staff.”
Right Don. Those low-IQ CEOs will NEVER figure out that this is just a cheesy infomercial.
Yeah, but did you see the preceding paragraph? What a sham.
“…the agreement gave the city editorial control over the script, the footage and the final product.”
So which is It Don, third-party credibility or not?
Why is it Don always talking instead of the Mayor?
Our liberal administration just spent our money on a cheesy infomercial to be aired on Fox News’ Business Network at a bad timeslot. Economic development or poor judgement. I bet the producers are still laughing.
Move to Pine Bluff if you don’t like Fayetteville..I heard Detroit is looking for some Smart folks to..
Detroit WHAT? NO YOU DIDN’T!
Where have I heard this ‘If you don’t like it, get out!’ sentiment before?
Oh yeah, the crazy right wing morons during the Bush tenure…
Wow I can’t believe the criticism of the mayor’s accent. You may have substantive disagreements with the administration’s policies and decisions (as I do) and criticize freely, but bringing up his accent is really low. A person’s accent is a function of where and by whom he or she was raised, and is absolutely no indication of ability or character.
Something tells me you wouldn’t be so quick to poke fun if the mayor had a black, Hispanic, or even lispy accent.
As illustrated by the above referenced lame attempt, part of the mayor’s job is to market the city to the rest of the world.
I’m from Arkansas and I cringe at Jordan’s accent.
Its just icing on the mediocre cake, as far as I’m concerned.
In an ideal world his accent would not be an issue but in the real world where this spot will air his strong accent will reinforce the negative image some will already wrongly have of a small town in Arkansas. As a resident of Fayetteville I know what a great place it is but nationwide many people see it as a backwater if they know it exists at all. It is a sterotype that is unujust but many people associate a strong southern accent with negative traits regardless of a person’s ability or character. Using this ad to try and change that is a mistake- another spokesperson(s) for the city might have been a better idea.
You guys worried about the mayor’s accent can put your fears to rest because nobody is going to see this infomercial anyway. All the ad buys will be like the one announced, which is 3 p.m. on a Saturday on a business channel. That’s the way these shady Florida companies like Today in America Work. They buy cheap time when nobody is watching, and then find someone naive enough to fall for the scam. And if there was ever an over-used cliche in marketing, it’s the tired and trite “one of America’s best-kept secrets.” If someone tries to sell you anything with that line, walk away quickly.
I like the spot. Terry Bradshaw is articulate and cool. He is a champion so I think it makes the city look good!