The City That Rhymes With Fun.

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
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Misogyny..... hahahahaha

Protesters convene on city hall in wake of off-colour tourism campaign​


A group of protesters gathered in the lobby of Regina city hall on Wednesday afternoon, requesting multiple actions in the wake of the former Tourism Regina’s off-colour rebrand.

The campaign tried to tap into some of the more unsavory attempts at humour involving the city's name — namely the fact it rhymes with vagina.

Protest organizer Bernadette Wagner said they were expressing concerns about misogyny inside city council.

“It’s a stupid campaign,” she said. “It’s unbecoming of Regina. It sexualizes our city.”

It’s abuse. Its sexual harassment put out by our city,” she added.

Demonstrators held signs saying, ‘It’s no joke,’ and ‘Make ending sexual violence a catalyst project.’

The protesters called for the removal of the current Regina Exhibition Association (REAL) CEO from having any association with the City of Regina, a full inquiry into why the campaign was launched, fair and equal representation of underserved and underrepresented communities and appropriate and immediate education and training around inclusivity, racism and sexual harassment.

“[Tim Reid] is ultimately responsible for this,” Wagner said. “To let any of this material pass through his organization is irresponsible and indicative of the [expletive] we need to end in this city.”

After changing its name from Tourism Regina to Experience Regina in March, the city-funded organization released a new campaign that included certain slogans that immediately drew criticism from residents both locally and around the globe.

Following the international backlash Experience Regina scrubbed the campaign off its website and social media and apologized, acknowledging aspects of its latest tourism campaign were “offensive or inappropriate.”

“We are committed to involving more diverse stakeholder groups in our decision-making process to ensure our messaging is always inclusive,” the statement said.

Some of the slogans included in the campaign that fell flat with many residents were “show us your Regina” and “the city that rhymes with fun”.

Last week, Mayor Sandra Masters said she was awaiting an update from REAL’s board of directors about any potential repercussions following the Experience Regina rebrand campaign.

--With files from CTV News’ Josh Lynn
 
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spaminator

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Rebranding of tourism agency walked back
The rebrand faced significant backlash with many saying it took the city backward in advancing women's rights.

Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Published Apr 14, 2023 • 2 minute read
The rebranding of Regina's tourism agency is being walked back as an independent review is set to examine what happened before the campaign rollout drew intense criticism.
The rebranding of Regina's tourism agency is being walked back as an independent review is set to examine what happened before the campaign rollout drew intense criticism.
REGINA — The rebranding of the tourism agency of Saskatchewan’s capital city is being walked back as an independent review is set to examine what happened before the campaign rollout drew intense criticism.


Experience Regina was launched last month with the agency posting phrases on social media that seemed to make light of the Saskatchewan capital’s name rhyming with female anatomy.


The rebrand faced significant backlash with many saying it took the city backward in advancing women’s rights.

Experience Regina reverted to Tourism Regina on Thursday, with all websites and social channels going back to the agency’s original name.

“Over the past few weeks, we have been working with Tourism Regina, city council and external stakeholders to determine the best path forward for our tourism agency,” said Wayne Morsky, the chair of the Regina Exhibition Association Limited board of directors, which oversees the agency.


The board of directors said in a news release it will undertake an independent review, led by a third-party consultant, to examine all aspects of the development of the Experience Regina brand and launch.

Any further action will come after the review is complete, but the board said it will ensure the future of tourism in Regina aligns with the values of the community.

Experience Regina launched the rebrand in March by posting an array of slogans on its social media accounts, including “We are the city that rhymes with fun.” Its website also had “show us your Regina” written above a block of Instagram posts.

The branding faced criticism with Opposition NDP Status of Women critic Jennifer Bowes. She wrote on Twitter that the tag lines were misogynistic. Regina Mayor Sandra Masters called the slogans “regrettable.” Others called the slogans lewd, lazy and sexist.


Tim Reid, the agency’s CEO, later apologized and said in a statement posted on social media that the campaign “fell short of what is expected from our amazing community with some of the slogans that we used.” Some people called for Reid’s resignation over the debacle.

Tourism Regina posted on social media that the agency is committed to consulting with a diverse group of stakeholders throughout the process of choosing a new name.

“While we determine what the future of Tourism Regina looks like, we look forward to getting back to work to support the local tourism economy essential to the city during the busy spring and summer seasons,” the statement said.
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
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With all the attention this has brought, there are a lot more people pronouncing Regina the latin/english way rather than the Latin way.

It opens the door for subtle references in slogans such as "Regina, get your groove on" or "It doesn't smell like Victoria" (fishy ocean smell). Regina "I can. Canoe?"
 
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55Mercury

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May 31, 2007
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Someone posted this eons ago. Petros maybe?

never thought I'd find it.

anyway the lyric "and Regina actually smells like it sounds"

 

spaminator

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Approval of racy Experience Regina rebrand blamed on junior staffer: Report
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Published Jul 13, 2023 • 3 minute read
Karlene Gibson holds a sign during a rally at Regina city hall.
Karlene Gibson holds a sign during a rally at Regina city hall on April 5, 2023. An independent review into how Regina's tourism agency handled a failed re-brand says a junior employee approved sexualized slogans before senior management could officially review them. PHOTO BY MICHAEL BELL /The Canadian Press
REGINA — An independent review into how Regina’s tourism agency handled a failed rebrand said a junior employee approved sexualized slogans before senior management could vet them.


The third-party review released Thursday said that while some of the slogans had been known among members of a committee made up of Tourism Regina staff, senior management did not rubber-stamp their use before they were made public in March.


Instead, the George B. Cuff & Associate report said a junior staffer had published the slogans online before senior management or the board could look at them.

“The (slogans) are still on the table, the staff member got them in front of them, gets called by the website designer who says, ‘Are we good to go with the slogans?’ And the junior staff member says, ‘Yeah, I guess so,'” report author George Cuff told reporters Thursday.

“So that’s the first time (the agency) probably had an opportunity to make a significant decision and he did so without getting the green light from somebody up the food chain.”


The slogans received public backlash as they seemed to make lewd reference to the city’s name rhyming with vagina, as well as using phrases such as “show us your Regina” and “the city that rhymes with fun.”



The review said the Regina Exhibition Association Ltd., which is responsible for Tourism Regina, had been in a state of disorganization, as it was doing the rebrand alongside other high-profile projects.

Former experienced senior leadership had also left the organization, it added, resulting in limited oversight in the review process.

After the fallout, Tourism Regina pulled all rebranding from its website and reverted back to its original logos. The organization’s CEO, Tim Reid, also apologized.


Reid is to not be fired, as the review said such action would be costly. No one else is to be let go, Cuff said. He added no one has resigned since the rollout.

“Are we going to somehow extract a pound of flesh, that somehow we’re going to end up as a better organization by firing either the person who hits the send button?” he said.

“Are we going to fire the CEO, spend copious amounts of money on the severance package, copious amounts of money finding a new one and copious amounts of money getting that person started up all over again?”

Cuff said responsibility squarely lies with the organization. He recommended it take a “fresh look at itself” and beef up its policies to ensure such failures don’t happen again.


Regina Exhibition Association Ltd. said it’s going to review its policies and procedures. It’ll also establish an advisory committee to ensure Tourism Regina is “reflective and inclusive” of the city’s people.

There are no plans for a new rebrand until policies are changed, the association said. Any new changes would also require the blessing of the advisory committee.

The slogans had offended advocates who said the phrases took the city backward in advancing women’s rights.

Kristen McLeod, who’s part of a group called Reimagine Regina, said she feels the association is dodging responsibility.

“To say the board wasn’t aware or responsible, I can accept that part of it. I think what I struggle with is the idea that then it just got kind of foggy,” she said. “It doesn’t work in my mind. And it seemed to me they were pushing it all off on this nameless person who pushed send on an email.”

Cuff’s report has cost Regina Exhibition Association Ltd. roughly $90,000. The organization also paid for his travel and spent $30,000 on the rebrand.

McLeod said she believes the affair will cost the city more as it tries to repair the damage done to its reputation.

“All the people, all the businesses, all the tourism agency operators, we’re all going to have to work harder to overcome this,” she said.
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55Mercury

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May 31, 2007
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senior management shouldn't get off the hook for being on vacation all the time. their failure was in not giving clear direction while they're 'out of the office'.
 

Tecumsehsbones

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senior management shouldn't get off the hook for being on vacation all the time. their failure was in not giving clear direction while they're 'out of the office'.
Of course. But what do you think "junior staffers" are for? They make copies, bring coffee, and take the hit.
 

55Mercury

rigid member
May 31, 2007
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yeah, I figure that was the plan too

let the youngun give the nod and we'll see if it floats! if it doesn't, the kid gets moved to a different position (probably with more pay - helps keep him quiet, and satisfies the 'peter principle') so the whiny-ass indignant feminists can see "something was done about it".

I liked the slogan. pretty good, I thought, for a town that smells like it sounds! lol
:?D
 

Tecumsehsbones

Hall of Fame Member
Mar 18, 2013
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yeah, I figure that was the plan too

let the youngun give the nod and we'll see if it floats! if it doesn't, the kid gets moved to a different position (probably with more pay - helps keep him quiet, and satisfies the 'peter principle') so the whiny-ass indignant feminists can see "something was done about it".

I liked the slogan. pretty good, I thought, for a town that smells like it sounds! lol
:?D
And if the "junior staffer" is considered hopeless, they'll move him into the city bureaucracy and out of the political side. I guess we'll see what their score on the loyalty test is.