Although Warwick may see some benefit from the Rhode Island: Cooler and Warmer campaign, that is contingent on whether or not the campaign sees any success itself.

If the point was to present the image of a Rhode Island travelers love and residents take pride in, choosing to hire numerous out-of-state individuals and organizations for the development of the campaign may not have been the right way.

In charge of the campaign, Betsy Wall, chief marketing officer for the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation, hails from Massachusetts, where she served as the director of their Travel and Tourism Department and their marketing partnership.

Why shouldn’t Rhode Island talent be at the forefront of this campaign?

It’s not to say Rhode Island doesn’t have the resources. The corporation commissioned graphic designer Milton Glaser for the state’s logo, one who has received major critiques and has been reduced to nothing more than a meme at this point.

Sure, Glaser may have the portfolio to back up his talent, but the Rhode Island School of Design is in our backyard with students and alumni alike just waiting to have their work discovered and showcased, probably for a whole lot less, too. Not to mention these students for the most part have lived in Rhode Island, have experienced both the edgy lifestyle of Providence and the easygoing beach communities. They know firsthand the feeling of being a Rhode Islander and would most likely have had a better idea of how to portray it.

Despite the errors throughout the campaign, from Icelandic footage, promotion of restaurants and people no longer situated within the state and outdated information about various locales across Rhode Island, it’s no doubt that this state should and deserves to be a major travel destination.

According to the Bloomberg State Innovation Index, Rhode Island was ranked the 14th most innovative state in the nation. Similarly, T.F. Green Airport was ranked third in the country by Condé Nast Traveler Readers Choice in 2015. Lastly, Providence was named a New York Times top place to visit in 2016, one of only 10 U.S locations on the list of 52. Providence held a spot next to international cities such as Barcelona, Spain and Bordeaux, France.

This is not to say everything about the campaign is a disaster. The footage that is of Rhode Island in the statewide commercial is beautiful and enticing – welcoming. The implementation of the campaign is extremely comprehensive and should reach tens of millions of potential visitors, which is why it can be extra disheartening that the commercial, website and logo don’t showcase the best of Rhode Island, the one we know others would want to visit.