• January 26, 2011

Louisiana is launching a new marketing campaign with the themeline: "Louisiana. Pick your Passion." In the logo for the effort, the two "I"s in the state's name are replaced with exclamation points.

State officials says the campaign is aimed at enticing visitors to sample the state's food, culture and recreational facilities. The state's lieutenant governor, who also is secretary of the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, told The Times-Picayune that he came up with the "Pick Your Passion" theme and ran it by an advertising consultant who said it would work.

The spring ad campaign, which is still in the works, will cost about $4.2 million. The effort will be directed at luring visitors back to the state after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill caused the cancellation of 26% of the trips that had been booked to the state last year.--Tanya Irwin