June 25, 2025 • 37 mins
What happens when a creative team is given permission to break every rule in tourism marketing? You get one of the most iconic campaigns in advertising history.
In this episode, Chris sits down with Arnie DiGeorge, Executive Vice President and “New Agency Animal” at R&R Partners, the agency behind Las Vegas’s legendary “What Happens Here, Stays Here” campaign. For 29 years, Arnie has helped transform Vegas from a tourist stop into a global cultural brand rooted in fantasy, freedom, and emotional truth.
Chris and Arnie explore the significance of emotional marketing, how to tap into universal desires, and the power of giving people permission to be someone else, if only for a weekend. From controversial billboards and internal politics to crisis messaging during Vegas’s darkest hours, Arnie shares what it really takes to build a brand that endures.
Show Highlights
(00:51) Arnie's unlikely entry into advertising
(03:20) 29 years at R&R + the agency's mysterious name
(06:07) The origin of “What Happens Here, Stays Here”
(09:21) Why emotional truth is essential to brand storytelling
(12:17) Pitching bold ideas and winning over Vegas stakeholders
(15:24) Selling a fantasy, not just a location
(18:57) Vegas as a sports capital: Knights, Raiders, F1, and beyond
(26:20) Branding through crisis
(29:12) What's next for Vegas
(31:41) Arnie's favorite brand: Nathan Fielder
(35:29) Where to connect with Arnie + final thoughts
About Arnie DiGeorge
Arnie DiGeorge is Executive Vice President and "New Agency Animal" at R&R Partners, where he's spent 29 years as a creative mastermind behind some of advertising's most memorable campaigns. A self-described "throwback and futurist," Arnie was a key creative force behind the legendary Las Vegas "What Happens Here, Stays Here" campaign, writing many of the award-winning executions while staying true to the essence of "adult freedom." While two R&R writers actually created the iconic slogan (and still won't reveal which one came up with it), Arnie helped shape the campaign's creative direction and emotional impact. With an innate ability to find what he calls "the thing," Arnie has created campaigns for athletes like Andre Agassi and entertainers like Carrie Underwood. Beyond his creative genius, he's a collector of shoes, wine, books, and memorabilia, with an expert knowledge of history and pop culture that fuels his cutting-edge creative approach.
Links:
R&R Partners: https://www.rrpartners.com/
Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority: https://www.lvcva.com/
Visit Las Vegas: https://www.visitlasvegas.com/
Connect with Arnie DiGeorge on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arnie-digeorge-02541a3/
The Rehearsal (Nathan Fielder): Available on HBO Max
Start a podcast with HumblePod! https://www.humblepod.com/our-services/
Sign up for our newsletter!https://www.humblepod.com/newsletter-sign-up/
- (00:00) - Intro
- (00:51) - Arnie's unlikely entry into advertising
- (03:20) - 29 years at R&R + the agency's mysterious name
- (06:07) - The origin of “What Happens Here, Stays Here”
- (09:21) - Why emotional truth is essential to brand storytelling
- (12:17) - Pitching bold ideas and winning over Vegas stakeholders
- (15:24) - Selling a fantasy, not just a location
- (19:35) - Vegas as a sports capital: Knights,
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
I don't think people really understand that this thing really permission,
(00:10):
you know?
Bottle of champagne or, or, or some insane dinner or whatever.
I mean, kind of everything shot up, you know, after that.
'cause you had this kind of extra permission
that you, that you didn't have before.
And the other thing is, one of the reasons it happened is
you really talk to people and what their fantasies are.
Everyone had a different fantasy about.
They were gonna be in Vegas and what they were gonna do, or
(00:31):
what they were, you know, what their, their end goal was.
So how do you put that in an ad? You can't put
everybody's fantasy in an ad. It's, it's not possible.
So that kind of led us down to that world and let them imagine it.
Welcome to, we built this brand where we talk to the
creators and collaborators behind your favorite brands.
It has been said that what happens in Vegas stays in
(00:53):
Vegas, and today I get to find out exactly why that is.
You see in this episode I'm talking with Arne DeGeorge,
executive Vice President and r and R Partners, and one of the key
people involved in the famous, what happens in Vegas campaign.
We'll walk through how Arnie found his way into r and r
Partners, and how this famous campaign got its start, as well
(01:14):
as the long lasting impacts it's had on the city of Las Vegas.
So join me now as we cruise down the Vegas strip
and into my conversation with Arnie de George.
Arnie, welcome to We Built This Brand.
Hi Chris.
Thank you so much for having me.
Yeah, it's a pleasure.
(01:35):
I'm excited to have you with us today to, um, talk about the
great city of Las Vegas and all of your work at r and r, um, over
the years and, um, yeah, there's just a lot to get into today.
I'm, I'm actually really excited about this 'cause
I've been to Vegas just a handful of times, but, um.
I love the city.
It's, it's a fun place to come visit.
(01:55):
And, um, and yeah, just there's a lot.
So, um, typically how we start these off, uh, is I like to get to
know you a little bit better, a little bit about your background.
So, um, if you don't mind, just doesn't have to be in
depth, but, you know, where did you get your start, um,
and how did you find your way to r and r to begin with?
So I have a really weird way into advertising, you know, where most people go
(02:18):
to the big, you know, the book schools and all that stuff, portfolio centers.
I started with a background of journalism slash advertising,
which they had back in the day in, in, in Reno, Nevada.
And then I went to work at a, a very, very small office with.
Five people in it.
And so I ended up, I, I thought I was gonna be creative.
I ended up doing everything.
(02:39):
I mean, I did, I was an account executive at times.
I was a runner.
I wrote, I, I laid stuff out with the big camera and everything.
Um, I did, I did pretty, I even bought media.
Rudimentary media somehow.
I mean, it did everything you could, you could do, which was great.
I learned a, I learned a lot about, about the business and everything.
(03:00):
Then I went to work for a place that was going after New York.
New York.
Not New York.
New York.
The city, New York.
New York, the hotel.
It's here in Las Vegas.
At the time was, was opening and uh, we tried to get that account.
We were pitching the account.
I remember driving around in a, uh, uh, uh, my Volkswagen Jetta
with a Statue of Liberty impersonator, uh, uh, in the car.
(03:22):
No.
Number one Statue of Liberty impersonator in the world.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know how you get that title.
I, I don't either.
I've, I've been to New York City and seen the impersonators though.
Was it someone like that?
Yeah, it was, it was supposedly the best one.
We found.
The best one.
That's awesome.
And I had to, and I had to drive her around for the day and
(03:42):
try and help her with her lines, which she failed miserably.
We did not get it.
And, um, don't say it probably the.
To try and get a, a job after the agency, you know, had, had failed.
And, and they, they shut down and, um, he didn't get the job.
(04:04):
They didn't like his art direction, but they liked the writing.
And that's how I got the job 29 years ago.
And, uh, and then I just, uh, worked really hard after that
and ended up running the creative department at some point.
That's exciting.
So, so you've been with r and r for quite a while?
Yeah, uh, around 29.
Around 29 years.
I think I get these notices every once in
(04:25):
a while, and I think the last one said 29.
That's awesome.
So coming up on a big one there, um, 30 coming up, but that's, that's exciting.
So, so you've done a lot in your career, I would imagine working with r and r.
Looks like, you know, from everything I've seen
of them, you know, they've been around a while.
How long has r and r been around by the way I.
50 years, we just had our 50 year anniversary and, uh, this is the 50th year.
(04:49):
And so, uh, it's been pretty exciting.
We, we did a lot of celebrating and a lot of talking about
the past and, and a lot of talking about the future, so, yeah.
Nice.
And what does r and r stand for, by the way?
Yeah, that's, that's a question that everyone has been trying to answer.
Even the people who started it there.
Uh, uh, there was one, um, guy who started long ago named Sig Roge.
(05:12):
And, um, so he was one of the Rs and nobody could understand the other.
RR It's funny because we have a wall somewhere in the place that
just goes over rest and relaxation, rowdy and this all the different
things you can RR because it's still, it's still sort of a weird.
Mystery as to what it is.
And I think somebody might have told me the, the real
(05:33):
story at some point, but I've, I've since forgotten it.
I, I think I like the fact that it could be anything.
Yeah.
It, it allows you to put your own vision of what it could be
and with you all doing a lot of looks like, you know, travel
and resorts and things like that, like, it's just, it fits
for the industry that I see you all interacting in a lot.
So that's pretty cool.
(05:53):
Okay.
Yeah.
Um.
So it could be anything,
anything that starts with an R.
Yes.
Anything that starts with an R and an R. Um, but that's awesome.
So, so then, so then moving on to the city.
Um, so y'all are based in Las Vegas and, um, I know
you've, you've had a lot of experience with Vegas.
Part of the reason why Vegas is exciting to me and fun to me
(06:15):
outside of just the fun of, you know, coming to Las Vegas and
experiencing shows and things like that, which is a fun side note.
I have never been to Las Vegas for fun.
It's always been for work.
Always been for business, you know, meetings, conferences, things like that.
But, um, still manages to be a really cool experience.
And, um, I've really enjoyed, like I said, the time I've had there.
(06:37):
But also where I live is back in Knoxville, Tennessee, and we're right next to
the Great Smokey Mountains, and so we're next to another very big touristy area.
Um, a lot of the same flashiness and you
know, at times Giness and, and you know, just.
A lot of the same similarities.
I think there kind of apply.
I think at one time, one of the bragging points to Gatlinburg, Tennessee
(06:58):
was we were number two per capita for wedding chapels behind Las Vegas.
So.
You know, we've, we've had a lot of, we've had a lot of similarities in
that respect over the years, so to, you know, and I, I've learned a lot over
the years about the, um, the branding of this area and things like that.
So to learn about Vegas and learn about the, the branding and how that
came about, um, I think it'd be really fascinating to talk about today.
(07:20):
And so that's, that's what I'm excited to
dive into with you and to learn more about.
So how did, how did this, how did the Las Vegas project start?
Let's just start there.
So I think the, the really, really fun stuff started when we, when
we started with the positioning of adult freedom and we worked from
(07:42):
there and, and one of the, one of the early campaigns, even before
what happens here, stays here, you know, was all based on freedom.
We had an ad freedom from reality and, uh.
Really, really nice pieces and uh, and we thought we were gonna
go down that direction and then, and then something happened.
I think nine 11 happened or something, something else disrupt you.
(08:05):
And we're very much like when, when something like that happens, you know,
we kind of stop everything because we know people don't really wanna.
People don't really wanna, you know, live the advertising world.
They wanna, they want a more comfortable world.
So we, you know, we, we do something different.
And that made us basically kind of take a look at it again.
And then, then we started going down the road
(08:27):
of, uh, of what happens here, stays here.
And, uh, and, and so it, for us.
Was a very, very, it was a very good thing because what happens
here, stays here, um, allowed you to do things that no other
tourism campaign had ever done by, by, by a wide margin.
And, um, we can get into that.
(08:48):
It basically allowed you to not show the destination.
You know, it allowed you to use your imagination
as to what your experience was gonna be.
What happens here?
Stacy, we didn't tell you what happens,
right?
Right.
So you could be, what happens to you, could be
anything you can come up with in your, in your head.
And so that was the magic of that campaign in the beginning.
(09:10):
And, and eventually we started to show some of the destination.
And when we did, it was great because then we showed it in a way I.
That showed the, the kind of tricks and games and fun you could
have being somebody else or, or doing something couldn't do at home.
And so, so we expanded it down the line and, uh, you know,
we, we made it last for a long time by really, really kind of
(09:33):
just bringing it along, bringing it along, bringing it along.
Pretty much as far as we can bring it.
Yeah.
So a place where you can achieve what you wanna achieve or do
do that crazy thing you've always wanted to do, which has been
perpetuated by Hollywood and, um, culture just over the years too.
I mean, what happens here, stay here is ubiquitous with the city now.
Like I, that's what I think of when I think of Vegas.
(09:54):
Well, it, it's in, you know, even before we, we kind of took
ownership of it, it was in people's heads as far as traveling went.
What stay, what happens on the road, stays on the road.
You know, we just knew that it was perfect, that it was a perfect truth for us.
And truth's super important in, in advertising because
you gotta get in there and inside people and everything.
And so, so they, they, you know, they, they bought
(10:18):
into that because, 'cause they knew it anyways and they
knew that it, there was no better place than Vegas for.
Yeah.
That's how it really, really took off and it became part of,
of, of what everybody thinks about Vegas and part of the city
and, and part of the culture, which is pretty incredible.
You, you mentioned, you mentioned getting inside of people's heads.
(10:38):
Tell me more about that.
Like how do you, what was that approach like to come up with this, this slogan?
Well, I.
Uh, you know, we have two writers came up with the, with the
actual slogan that we're working for us at the, at the time.
And, uh, they wouldn't say which one actually
(10:59):
came up with it, so that was the best part.
They, they kept it.
Uh, but
what happens to the writer's room stays in the writer's room, right?
Yes, exactly.
Exactly.
I think that if you don't have some, if you don't have some truth.
Some universal truth in, in inside, um, what you're doing.
People are not gonna relate to it and it's not gonna catch on with them.
(11:20):
Um, I think most of marketing and advertising, if it doesn't have
that, um, if it doesn't have that in its positioning and doesn't
have that in its communication, it's really not gonna work.
And 'cause you need to grab the emotions of people,
you know.
You know, they where they, where they're like going, why did you do that?
(11:42):
Sometimes That's great.
Know, it's like, I remember, I'll you very, very, very early on.
Um, did an ad for a community college.
It was a billboard.
It had an arrow pointing at the community college and an arrow
pointing at the McDonald's across the street and the arrow point
at the community college, uh, or the arrow pointing at the,
(12:06):
uh, uh, at McDonald's, said Million burger served, whatever.
You know, that line was, they had a time, and then the airplane at
the community college was how to, how to avoid a life of serving them.
There was a crazy outcry from people who worked at McDonald's
and lawyers at McDonald's and everything else, which was great.
You want that?
Mm-hmm.
(12:26):
You know, at the time the agency was like, do we want that?
But then, then they found out they really did want it, you
know, it ended up in Time Magazine and everything else.
So, I mean, I think that grabbing people's emotions is, is.
It's kind of the most important thing really.
I'm sure you've talked to a lot of people
about this and they, they say the same thing.
Yeah.
I mean, emotion is always something key when you're, when you're
(12:48):
talking about, you know, trying to, trying to get someone to make a
purchase, make a decision, um, you know, just attract attention to you.
You want emotion.
I mean, art is emotion.
So, so you want that, um.
You know, I think that's important to have as part of
what you're doing with the creative sphere anymore.
(13:08):
You know, with where we're at today, a lot of it can
be just, um, odd, weird, just attracts your attention
in some strange way, even, um, as we're finding now.
But yeah, I like the, um, that that cleverness to what you're saying.
Um.
With the, um, with the college piece and everything.
I think that's really fascinating.
Um, so you, so you did that, you got that, you got that emotion.
(13:31):
What was the reaction when, when you first pitched this to the city?
Because I'm sure that was, uh, probably a bit
edgy at the time to even bring to the city.
I. Even though it is Vegas.
It was, it was very, it was very edgy.
And, and you know, the great thing about our agency is, you know, we,
we are, we are not just advertising, you know, we, we have a government
(13:53):
affairs division and we, and we have PR division and we have, you
know, all of these community relations people and everything else.
So, so we, we really knew it was gonna be that way.
So we did the work behind the scenes.
I mean, we, we went, I mean the L-V-C-V-A is, is all the hotels on the
strip and, you know, there's a big, there, they're a commission and, and,
(14:14):
uh, you know, they are a board and they all kind of decide these things.
And so we went from person to person to person and, and,
you know, did the behind the scenes work and did the
testing and, and everything else to, to, to get it through.
You know, we didn't just go in and go, Hey.
It wouldn't have gone well,
(14:36):
so, so you took time, you worked through the right people, you got it
approved little by little, and then finally got it all signed off on.
Yeah, it's the same thing that we, we, we do with a lot of the stuff.
I mean, it's the same thing.
We got the way we got the help get, um, Allegiant
on and get the Raiders and everything else.
I mean, all of those things require a whole
community and votes and all of this kind of stuff.
(14:58):
And so, you know, we go out and bring those stakeholders
together and that's what other agencies really.
Have a hard time doing if they can even try it.
Yeah, I mean, you bring up a good point because stakeholders are
very important when you're thinking about marketing and branding.
Anything.
If you just come up with a fun idea, it might be fun and clever and edgy, but
it may not, um, you know, it may not resonate with them, it may not be a fit.
(15:21):
Right.
Well, yeah, and, and as you know from most of.
You know, if you go all the way back to Apple's, um, um, brave New
World ad and if you saw the testing for that, how, how that went over
and everything else, it's like a lot of times the really, really big
ideas, people don't realize them because they're, they're ahead of their
time and so they're very hard to grab onto until they're out there.
(15:44):
And then when they're out there, you see, oh my, you
know, we really were onto something, but all of our.
You know, managers of these things and protectors said, don't do that.
And so it's tough, you know, because you wanna get something
out there that really grabs them and really, and really
sets it in motion and, but sometimes that's a scary thing.
(16:04):
Oh yeah.
Yeah.
Was there anybody out there that was opposed
to you all running this, this slogan?
Oh, I'm, I'm, I'm sure there were,
not by name of course, but.
I'm sure there were.
I mean, I mean, I, I can't, you know, it's been a long, it's been a
long time, but I know there were some, there were some voices that
were, you know, that wondered and, and you know, hey, we wondered.
(16:29):
We, we liked it, but, you know, we wanted
to go out there and talk to people about it.
And I think we talked a lot to a lot of people about this
before we, before we went forward with it, because we wanted
to make sure we weren't, you know, making some, some mistake.
But, you know, we did the work and.
It worked.
Going back to something you said earlier, 'cause I'm,
(16:50):
I'm thinking now about like the initial launch of the
campaign, getting it out there, get it, spreading it.
You said you, you really focused on the people and not the place.
What, what benefit did that, I mean, I can understand the benefit of that, but
like what, um, what other benefits did that have, like maybe from a production
perspective or a creative perspective on the initial ads that you came out with?
(17:12):
I think later on when you're really trying to shoot
the town, you see how much that, how much better that.
You're done.
You know?
And then, then when you go out and you try and shoot
something in town, you have to have all the extras and you
have to shoot in all the different locations and everything.
And, you know, it's, it's a lot, it's a lot tougher.
So production wise, it, it was great.
(17:34):
Um, I think the other thing is though, I, I don't think people really
understand that this thing really gave you permission to be and things
that's buying some crazy, you know.
Bottle of champagne or, or, or some insane dinner or whatever.
I mean, kind of everything shot up, you know, after that.
(17:55):
'cause you had this kind of extra permission
that you, that you didn't have before.
And the other thing is, one of the reasons it happened is
you really talk to people and what their fantasies are.
Everyone had a different fantasy about.
In Vegas and what they were gonna do or what they
were, you know, what their, their end goal was.
So how do you put that in an ad? You can't put everybody's ind.
(18:18):
So that led us down to that world.
Let them imagine set in.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Allow them to put themselves in that position and think
about what it could be that they do when they come.
Yeah.
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And then as it's grown over time, so like what
did that, what did that mean for the city?
I mean, obviously this comes out, it was, it was a great campaign.
I mean, everybody remembers it.
So like what?
Um, I. Maybe what was the city's response?
(19:25):
Did you actually, were you able to track any ROI for the city on the campaign?
How did that work?
Oh, yeah.
I mean, there's, there's numerous studies
that we've done and people have done it.
It, it really.
Not only, you know, brought in visitors, but, uh, again, it, it helped with
spending and everything else and, and it helped with a DR and the whole
(19:47):
thing, ADRs average daily rate of, of, uh, that they pay in the hotels.
And, and so for a long time it really, it, it did in, it did incredibly well
for the city and I. I, I believe it's a, it was a precursor to everything
that is now happening to the city with the sports and everything else.
It allowed us to, it allowed us to, to open everything up.
(20:11):
You know what I mean?
It's like so many people knew about.
You know, the tagline in the city and what you could do here and, and it
just, you know, set the imagination free as to what the city could become.
You mentioned the sports scene.
One of my, my first trip to Vegas was actually with the National
Sports Forum, and that was like a great primer for Vegas because
I actually got to, got to see the, um, the, the Las Vegas Knights.
(20:34):
Ring the ice hockey ring.
Um, they were talking, this was right before the Raiders
came in, so they were talking about the Raiders coming.
They were talking about the branding for that, the marketing for that.
I got to see the speedway, we got to see a lot of the sports stuff in
town and I didn't realize how big sports really were to Vegas at the time.
Um.
You know, I, I'd always thought of it more as a, okay, you come here
(20:56):
for vacation, you come here to, you know, see shows or, you know,
gamble or live your wildest fear in loathing in Las Vegas, fantasy
out, you know, whatever it may be, you know, adventures in Vegas.
I mean, love the cars, love things like that.
Like my, my Dream Vegas vacation is like coming there and
seeing Formula One and seeing the Vegas race because that, that
(21:18):
is something that was, people were real skeptical about it.
First, and it just turned into this, like it's,
it's become one of the best races of the season.
Um, and so I'm, you know, big, big F1 fan.
So that for me is probably the biggest thing, but just getting to be
there, be around the city itself, um, it's just a fascinating place.
Easy, easy, easy to get lost.
(21:39):
And I learned that the hard way too in my time there.
Um, but yeah, yeah.
Can't say enough about that.
But yeah, drug fueled, not so much.
I did for some reason.
I didn't think so, Chris.
But I, I had to ask.
Oh yeah.
No, no, no, no.
For sure.
So you could see just from your, just from your
fantasy of Las Vegas, you can see how hard it.
(22:01):
Everybody's fancy and you got your own, you got your own thing that, that
you wanna do, and, and everybody's got their own thing that they wanna
do, you know, and, and sometimes it's sitting at the slot machine until
4:00 AM and other times it's, you know, I wanna be at the F1 race and
then I want to go out to the track and drive my own car around the track.
You know, that kind of stuff.
So.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Last time I was in Vegas, we did get to go out to one of the car, those
(22:23):
places where they have like, um, like I think we were in a Dodge Hellcat and
we did drifting around a track and things like that as part of our project.
Um, that was a lot of fun.
But yeah, Vegas is a, you can do a lot there, like you said.
I mean, that's, that's the whole point of your, your ads and
I think it, um, yeah, really proves true in a lot of respects.
So.
(22:44):
That's cool.
So, so as, as we move our way into the future, I think that's a good tie in.
'cause you know, we're talking about sports and things like that, and it looks
like the newer, the newest campaign you all have is Las Vegas Go All Out.
Tell me, tell me about the evolution.
Yeah, so I, I, I think again, you know, showing all of the sports and showing
(23:06):
all of the, the, all of that stuff is, is a lot, is a lot tougher and, um.
It doesn't really give you the feeling of
emotion from the fans, you know what I mean?
And in Vegas, because you can be a little
bit more than you can be anywhere else.
You know?
We just took that to the next, to the next level.
You know what I mean?
(23:26):
It's like you get to see how the fans really react when they're in a city.
Is this, you know, freeing and this open that they, you
know, they do go all out and it gets, it gets even a
little bit more crazy than it would at, at another stadium.
And so I, I think that's the, that's the, that's the
point of the ad and, and a lot of the stuff we do just
(23:47):
basically says, shows how we amplify that experience.
We amplify the sports experience, we amplify the restaurant experience, the.
I've had the good fortune to go to a Wolf King
puck restaurant there, and man, incredible
(24:08):
amplified.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
I, I even got the, uh, the smoked whiskey with, like,
they bring it out and they actually smoke it for you.
And the, the wood that they use is from the
barrel that the whiskey was originally in.
And all the, it was just insane.
It was insane.
Um, but yeah, that was a great experience.
Um, but yeah, I noticed that amplification too.
(24:30):
And the sports thing particularly struck home to me because.
Last time I was in Vegas, there was a, um,
I think it was near the, the NFL playoffs.
It was in November, and there was like Kansas City there playing the Raiders.
Um, and I just remember going through the airport, like le leaving and coming.
It was people in Kansas City gear and um, you
(24:50):
know, and in Raiders gear and stuff like that.
And I just, the it
Did you go to the game?
I did not, no.
I was, I was there for a conference, unfortunately,
so I was there for the Amazon Reinvent conference.
Um, which in itself is a, like wild world of an experience.
Um, just with how big and how many people are there and how
much money just goes into turning basically Las Vegas into an
(25:12):
Amazon billboard and tech billboards, um, for that time period.
But yeah, it was, but the crazy thing was like, that ad felt very much
like the experience I had going to and from the hotel of just seeing
the fans and stuff there, it was like, oh yeah, I've, I've been there.
That's Vegas, that this, this.
Fits the bill.
Well, if you were into the game, you'd probably see a, a more, more, um,
(25:35):
Kansas City fans than you would think you would see at a, at a Raider game.
You know what I mean?
That's the kind of the, the difference in Vegas is that, is that
the fans, that a lot of the fans are from the other, are from the
other team because they wanna come and, and see the game here.
And so it's a, it's a super interesting, uh, uh, experience.
(25:56):
Yeah.
It's a spectacle.
It truly is.
Yeah.
Spectacles exactly what exactly what we call it a lot.
Yeah.
So yeah, it's, I mean this, this campaign has had huge influence,
um, over the years and yeah, I've just found it fascinating.
So thank you for taking the time to talk to me about that today.
I think there's a lot there.
(26:17):
Is there anything else from the campaign over the years where you're like,
Hey, this was my favorite part, or, this is one thing that I think has
been one of the biggest, most impactful things for me during this time.
I.
So, uh, one of the things that, you know, we, we, we can talk about is that
Vegas has, you know, has gone through some really, really tough times too.
You know, we had the one October shooting and, um, we had, uh, and you
(26:37):
know, we had the pandemic where the whole town closed down and everything.
And our, um, you know, r and r is.
Involved in all that stuff, you know, um, during the one
October shooting, we, we kind of became a, a, a control room
for, for what was going on message wise in the city and, and
logistics and a lot of different, a lot of different things.
(26:59):
Same thing for the, when the pandemic was going on.
And so, you know, we took a big part in that stuff and so I.
I, I, I love it when, you know, we do the shock emotion
and the, and the, those that really guide you that way.
But I also, you know, we did a lot of emotional stuff during one
October, um, you know, with Andre Agassi and, uh, and a kind of
(27:21):
a manifesto about Vegas Strong that went out and everything else.
And so, and so we, you know, we, we go both sides of the, of
the, of the thing here in protecting, in protecting the city.
And, uh, and so a lot of people don't realize
really what goes into to keeping this hole.
I.
(27:46):
You know, you all are doing more than just always being fun and happy, right?
Like, there, there are some serious parts to r and r where it's
like, hey, we, we have a relationship to maintain with the city,
and we're helping them communicate to their, you know, their cons.
I would say constituents, that's not the right word.
Um, citizens.
Well, the city, the city has a voice.
(28:07):
The, the visitors, um, the people that live here.
All of the, all of the sports things that we've
done, we've needed to bring in the stakeholders.
We've needed to work with all of the people in the city, but
we've also needed to get the messaging out to, to people.
We've needed to get votes, we needed to do all that stuff.
And so, you know, we, we we're constantly doing that, that, that kind of stuff.
(28:28):
So, and whenever something goes wrong, you
know, we're doing crisis management, you.
Besides just the marketing advertising part, you know,
which, which is the, is the fun part that everybody sees.
You know, what goes on behind the scenes with, with, with our client and,
and everything else is a, is a whole different, whole different story.
(28:50):
Although I will say any, ask anybody around here, I'm super happy all the time.
That's good.
That's good.
Yeah.
But you still have to have those serious moments from time to time.
I get that.
Yeah.
That's, that's neat.
Um, so what about the future?
What, what, what's the future for, for Vegas?
Is there anything that you see coming, that you all are doing that
(29:13):
you're like, Hey, this is really exciting and I can let you in on it?
Or, it's okay if not, but just curious.
So, you know, we, we do, we do have a new campaign that's gonna come out soon.
Uh, uh, and it's not, you know, based in what happens here,
states, or I can't tell you what it's based in, but it promises
to be, um, super fun, cool campaign that, that we're gonna do.
(29:35):
We also, we just had Vegas' 120th.
You know, birthday party.
Oh, wow.
And, um, and one of the things that we talk about in it is that,
that Vegas has really not even close to reaching its potential.
Hmm.
I mean, this is this kind of city.
I, so, so who knows, you know, what's next?
I mean, I probably shouldn't even tell the story, but I'm gonna tell it.
(29:56):
I don't care.
Um, so on April Fools, uh, a few years ago, um, we were gonna put out this.
This website and this piece that said that a hotel was gonna be built
here called the the subterranean, and that it was, and that it was
gonna be built underground, so many miles close to the magma of the
(30:17):
earth, where you would have a magma spa and all this stuff, right?
And so we thought this was really fun for, for
April Fools, but there were people who said.
No, we, I mean, not only will it be believable,
maybe somebody's already planning it.
(30:37):
That's the city, you know, you can barely even do an April Fools on this
city because you, you never know what they're going to do or what they're
going to try or what plans are in the, or in the hopper, which is, which is.
Fantastic.
Well, I mean, I could see underground working well for a city
like Las Vegas where it's so hot all the time and, um, you know,
(30:59):
see, you were already totally, completely believing it.
You would've, you would've, you would've, you would've bought right into it.
I know.
I would've bought it hook, line, and sinker.
That's great.
That's exciting.
Um.
Well, yeah, that's, that is, um, that's fascinating.
So I, I can't wait for that to come out.
Um, when, when will we be seeing that get released?
(31:20):
Do you have any idea?
Just so listeners, viewers can know?
I don't know the exact date, but soon.
Very soon.
Okay.
Cool.
Awesome.
Well, Arnie, thank you for your time today.
This has, this has been really cool just
to dive into Vegas and learn more about it.
Um, you know, as we wrap up, I always like to ask the question,
(31:41):
you know, what brand do you admire the most right now?
And be curious to get your input on that.
Well, you're gonna, you're gonna find this weird,
but my favorite brand right now is Nathan Fielder.
Oh my gosh, yes.
I've been watching.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Have you watched the latest version of the rehearsal?
Yes, I've seen every episode.
(32:01):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So he's trying to, he's, he's, he's trying to help stop plane
crashes by bringing pilots and their copilots together in the
weirdest, most entertaining, most sometimes cringe worthy.
Roundabout insane way, but it's the most creative thing I've, I've seen in a
long, long time, and his brand has been that way and building to this moment.
(32:25):
So he's, he's, he's my favorite brand in the world right now.
I, I, I just have not seen anything that creative in a, in a long time.
Yeah, he's, he is definitely, um, yeah, he's definitely fascinating to me.
'cause like I've, I've been spending time like digging into it on Reddit.
'cause I'm like, how much this is real?
How much this is fake?
(32:46):
What do people think, what do people observe?
And it's like, it, it almost doesn't matter.
Like, you, you should really just throw
out any just assumption of it being like.
Oh, these people are a hundred percent real, or these people are fake.
And just, just just live in the moment and enjoy the story.
'cause it's, it's, you're right, it's cringe-worthy, but it's
also like at times, like laugh out loud, funny, um, in tears.
(33:09):
So yeah.
I, I, yeah, the, the, um, the rehearsal is what it's called.
The rehearsal has just been fantastic.
I would, I would agree that's a great brand.
His brand in general though, if you watch his
arc. Where he started and everything else.
And how he ended up there is, is, is pretty amazing.
I mean, he really hasn't, he hasn't done any backtracking, you know what I mean?
(33:32):
Mm-hmm.
He is moving forward and I don't know where he's going next.
Uh, you know, I like to, I like to look at Vegas
that way, that we're always kind of moving forward.
You never know where we're gonna end up.
And he's, uh, uh, very much that brand.
Yeah.
Well, it's what, it's what makes him fascinating
and I, I think it's fair to call him a brand 'cause.
One of the refrains I see often on my research
(33:55):
on the internet is, you know, Nathan is Nathan.
He's not going to change.
That's the thing you have to understand about him.
And once you get that, you can get the jokes a little bit better and why he
always kind of makes himself the butt of the joke by the end of the series.
Yeah, and it's fun to see people get riled up about it too.
'cause he does some edgy stuff.
(34:17):
He does.
I mean, the giant, yeah.
I, I, let's not get into it, but the, the episode,
the solely episode, right?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
I laughed so hard at that.
Yeah.
It's the best.
Yeah, it's the best.
Yeah.
That's, I, I would agree.
I think he's, he's doing a great job and, um, yeah.
(34:38):
It's just, it's a fun show.
Yeah.
So.
Awesome.
Well, cool.
Well, Nathan Fielder is.
Definitely on the list.
Um, for those who haven't seen it, should definitely check it out.
Um, I mean, it's like, it, it's every, I guess this is what's
coming in the back of my head is like he, he's literally like
every marketer's, like worst impulse and he just does it.
(34:59):
It's like if you've ever had a bad idea and you
want to pitch it and see it happen, he's done it.
Um, and brought it to life, and I love that about him.
This whole thing, this whole thing of building this fake world that he
builds is, is just amazing with this blank paycheck from HBO where he builds
the whole airport and he builds the community and he builds everything.
(35:22):
It's just like, and you don't know what you're, you know what you're watching.
It's, it's.
I like the way he put it.
He said, I've got a blank check as long as I don't go over budget.
Yeah.
So, yeah.
It's so, it's so good.
Um, so good.
But yeah, people should definitely check that out.
That's, that's a good one.
Um, all right, well, where can people connect with you?
(35:43):
Where can people learn more about r and r if they
want to get, um, more information on, on your agency?
Yeah, and I'll, I'll send them to the right person if they,
if I can't answer their questions, which is often the case.
(36:04):
Well, that's great.
Well, Arnie, thank you so much.
This has been a pleasure talking to you today.
Lemme say that again.
Got my words a little mixed up there.
All right, Arnie.
Well it's been a pleasure talking to you today.
Thank you so much for coming on the show.
Thanks for having me.
It was super fun.
Thank you.
Absolutely.
Take care.
Thanks for checking out this episode of We Built This Brand.
Don't forget to like and subscribe on your player of choice.
(36:27):
You can also keep up with the podcast on we built this brand.com.
If you like this episode, please give the podcast a five
star review and make sure to tell all your friends about it.
So we can continue to build this brand.
I don't think people really understand that this thing really permission,
(00:10):
you know?
Bottle of champagne or, or, or some insane dinner or whatever.
I mean, kind of everything shot up, you know, after that.
'cause you had this kind of extra permission
that you, that you didn't have before.
And the other thing is, one of the reasons it happened is
you really talk to people and what their fantasies are.
Everyone had a different fantasy about.
They were gonna be in Vegas and what they were gonna do, or
(00:31):
what they were, you know, what their, their end goal was.
So how do you put that in an ad? You can't put
everybody's fantasy in an ad. It's, it's not possible.
So that kind of led us down to that world and let them imagine it.
Welcome to, we built this brand where we talk to the
creators and collaborators behind your favorite brands.
It has been said that what happens in Vegas stays in
(00:53):
Vegas, and today I get to find out exactly why that is.
You see in this episode I'm talking with Arne DeGeorge,
executive Vice President and r and R Partners, and one of the key
people involved in the famous, what happens in Vegas campaign.
We'll walk through how Arnie found his way into r and r
Partners, and how this famous campaign got its start, as well
(01:14):
as the long lasting impacts it's had on the city of Las Vegas.
So join me now as we cruise down the Vegas strip
and into my conversation with Arnie de George.
Arnie, welcome to We Built This Brand.
Hi Chris.
Thank you so much for having me.
Yeah, it's a pleasure.
(01:35):
I'm excited to have you with us today to, um, talk about the
great city of Las Vegas and all of your work at r and r, um, over
the years and, um, yeah, there's just a lot to get into today.
I'm, I'm actually really excited about this 'cause
I've been to Vegas just a handful of times, but, um.
I love the city.
It's, it's a fun place to come visit.
(01:55):
And, um, and yeah, just there's a lot.
So, um, typically how we start these off, uh, is I like to get to
know you a little bit better, a little bit about your background.
So, um, if you don't mind, just doesn't have to be in
depth, but, you know, where did you get your start, um,
and how did you find your way to r and r to begin with?
So I have a really weird way into advertising, you know, where most people go
(02:18):
to the big, you know, the book schools and all that stuff, portfolio centers.
I started with a background of journalism slash advertising,
which they had back in the day in, in, in Reno, Nevada.
And then I went to work at a, a very, very small office with.
Five people in it.
And so I ended up, I, I thought I was gonna be creative.
I ended up doing everything.
(02:39):
I mean, I did, I was an account executive at times.
I was a runner.
I wrote, I, I laid stuff out with the big camera and everything.
Um, I did, I did pretty, I even bought media.
Rudimentary media somehow.
I mean, it did everything you could, you could do, which was great.
I learned a, I learned a lot about, about the business and everything.
(03:00):
Then I went to work for a place that was going after New York.
New York.
Not New York.
New York.
The city, New York.
New York, the hotel.
It's here in Las Vegas.
At the time was, was opening and uh, we tried to get that account.
We were pitching the account.
I remember driving around in a, uh, uh, uh, my Volkswagen Jetta
with a Statue of Liberty impersonator, uh, uh, in the car.
(03:22):
No.
Number one Statue of Liberty impersonator in the world.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know how you get that title.
I, I don't either.
I've, I've been to New York City and seen the impersonators though.
Was it someone like that?
Yeah, it was, it was supposedly the best one.
We found.
The best one.
That's awesome.
And I had to, and I had to drive her around for the day and
(03:42):
try and help her with her lines, which she failed miserably.
We did not get it.
And, um, don't say it probably the.
To try and get a, a job after the agency, you know, had, had failed.
And, and they, they shut down and, um, he didn't get the job.
(04:04):
They didn't like his art direction, but they liked the writing.
And that's how I got the job 29 years ago.
And, uh, and then I just, uh, worked really hard after that
and ended up running the creative department at some point.
That's exciting.
So, so you've been with r and r for quite a while?
Yeah, uh, around 29.
Around 29 years.
I think I get these notices every once in
(04:25):
a while, and I think the last one said 29.
That's awesome.
So coming up on a big one there, um, 30 coming up, but that's, that's exciting.
So, so you've done a lot in your career, I would imagine working with r and r.
Looks like, you know, from everything I've seen
of them, you know, they've been around a while.
How long has r and r been around by the way I.
50 years, we just had our 50 year anniversary and, uh, this is the 50th year.
(04:49):
And so, uh, it's been pretty exciting.
We, we did a lot of celebrating and a lot of talking about
the past and, and a lot of talking about the future, so, yeah.
Nice.
And what does r and r stand for, by the way?
Yeah, that's, that's a question that everyone has been trying to answer.
Even the people who started it there.
Uh, uh, there was one, um, guy who started long ago named Sig Roge.
(05:12):
And, um, so he was one of the Rs and nobody could understand the other.
RR It's funny because we have a wall somewhere in the place that
just goes over rest and relaxation, rowdy and this all the different
things you can RR because it's still, it's still sort of a weird.
Mystery as to what it is.
And I think somebody might have told me the, the real
(05:33):
story at some point, but I've, I've since forgotten it.
I, I think I like the fact that it could be anything.
Yeah.
It, it allows you to put your own vision of what it could be
and with you all doing a lot of looks like, you know, travel
and resorts and things like that, like, it's just, it fits
for the industry that I see you all interacting in a lot.
So that's pretty cool.
(05:53):
Okay.
Yeah.
Um.
So it could be anything,
anything that starts with an R.
Yes.
Anything that starts with an R and an R. Um, but that's awesome.
So, so then, so then moving on to the city.
Um, so y'all are based in Las Vegas and, um, I know
you've, you've had a lot of experience with Vegas.
Part of the reason why Vegas is exciting to me and fun to me
(06:15):
outside of just the fun of, you know, coming to Las Vegas and
experiencing shows and things like that, which is a fun side note.
I have never been to Las Vegas for fun.
It's always been for work.
Always been for business, you know, meetings, conferences, things like that.
But, um, still manages to be a really cool experience.
And, um, I've really enjoyed, like I said, the time I've had there.
(06:37):
But also where I live is back in Knoxville, Tennessee, and we're right next to
the Great Smokey Mountains, and so we're next to another very big touristy area.
Um, a lot of the same flashiness and you
know, at times Giness and, and you know, just.
A lot of the same similarities.
I think there kind of apply.
I think at one time, one of the bragging points to Gatlinburg, Tennessee
(06:58):
was we were number two per capita for wedding chapels behind Las Vegas.
So.
You know, we've, we've had a lot of, we've had a lot of similarities in
that respect over the years, so to, you know, and I, I've learned a lot over
the years about the, um, the branding of this area and things like that.
So to learn about Vegas and learn about the, the branding and how that
came about, um, I think it'd be really fascinating to talk about today.
(07:20):
And so that's, that's what I'm excited to
dive into with you and to learn more about.
So how did, how did this, how did the Las Vegas project start?
Let's just start there.
So I think the, the really, really fun stuff started when we, when
we started with the positioning of adult freedom and we worked from
(07:42):
there and, and one of the, one of the early campaigns, even before
what happens here, stays here, you know, was all based on freedom.
We had an ad freedom from reality and, uh.
Really, really nice pieces and uh, and we thought we were gonna
go down that direction and then, and then something happened.
I think nine 11 happened or something, something else disrupt you.
(08:05):
And we're very much like when, when something like that happens, you know,
we kind of stop everything because we know people don't really wanna.
People don't really wanna, you know, live the advertising world.
They wanna, they want a more comfortable world.
So we, you know, we, we do something different.
And that made us basically kind of take a look at it again.
And then, then we started going down the road
(08:27):
of, uh, of what happens here, stays here.
And, uh, and, and so it, for us.
Was a very, very, it was a very good thing because what happens
here, stays here, um, allowed you to do things that no other
tourism campaign had ever done by, by, by a wide margin.
And, um, we can get into that.
(08:48):
It basically allowed you to not show the destination.
You know, it allowed you to use your imagination
as to what your experience was gonna be.
What happens here?
Stacy, we didn't tell you what happens,
right?
Right.
So you could be, what happens to you, could be
anything you can come up with in your, in your head.
And so that was the magic of that campaign in the beginning.
(09:10):
And, and eventually we started to show some of the destination.
And when we did, it was great because then we showed it in a way I.
That showed the, the kind of tricks and games and fun you could
have being somebody else or, or doing something couldn't do at home.
And so, so we expanded it down the line and, uh, you know,
we, we made it last for a long time by really, really kind of
(09:33):
just bringing it along, bringing it along, bringing it along.
Pretty much as far as we can bring it.
Yeah.
So a place where you can achieve what you wanna achieve or do
do that crazy thing you've always wanted to do, which has been
perpetuated by Hollywood and, um, culture just over the years too.
I mean, what happens here, stay here is ubiquitous with the city now.
Like I, that's what I think of when I think of Vegas.
(09:54):
Well, it, it's in, you know, even before we, we kind of took
ownership of it, it was in people's heads as far as traveling went.
What stay, what happens on the road, stays on the road.
You know, we just knew that it was perfect, that it was a perfect truth for us.
And truth's super important in, in advertising because
you gotta get in there and inside people and everything.
And so, so they, they, you know, they, they bought
(10:18):
into that because, 'cause they knew it anyways and they
knew that it, there was no better place than Vegas for.
Yeah.
That's how it really, really took off and it became part of,
of, of what everybody thinks about Vegas and part of the city
and, and part of the culture, which is pretty incredible.
You, you mentioned, you mentioned getting inside of people's heads.
(10:38):
Tell me more about that.
Like how do you, what was that approach like to come up with this, this slogan?
Well, I.
Uh, you know, we have two writers came up with the, with the
actual slogan that we're working for us at the, at the time.
And, uh, they wouldn't say which one actually
(10:59):
came up with it, so that was the best part.
They, they kept it.
Uh, but
what happens to the writer's room stays in the writer's room, right?
Yes, exactly.
Exactly.
I think that if you don't have some, if you don't have some truth.
Some universal truth in, in inside, um, what you're doing.
People are not gonna relate to it and it's not gonna catch on with them.
(11:20):
Um, I think most of marketing and advertising, if it doesn't have
that, um, if it doesn't have that in its positioning and doesn't
have that in its communication, it's really not gonna work.
And 'cause you need to grab the emotions of people,
you know.
You know, they where they, where they're like going, why did you do that?
(11:42):
Sometimes That's great.
Know, it's like, I remember, I'll you very, very, very early on.
Um, did an ad for a community college.
It was a billboard.
It had an arrow pointing at the community college and an arrow
pointing at the McDonald's across the street and the arrow point
at the community college, uh, or the arrow pointing at the,
(12:06):
uh, uh, at McDonald's, said Million burger served, whatever.
You know, that line was, they had a time, and then the airplane at
the community college was how to, how to avoid a life of serving them.
There was a crazy outcry from people who worked at McDonald's
and lawyers at McDonald's and everything else, which was great.
You want that?
Mm-hmm.
(12:26):
You know, at the time the agency was like, do we want that?
But then, then they found out they really did want it, you
know, it ended up in Time Magazine and everything else.
So, I mean, I think that grabbing people's emotions is, is.
It's kind of the most important thing really.
I'm sure you've talked to a lot of people
about this and they, they say the same thing.
Yeah.
I mean, emotion is always something key when you're, when you're
(12:48):
talking about, you know, trying to, trying to get someone to make a
purchase, make a decision, um, you know, just attract attention to you.
You want emotion.
I mean, art is emotion.
So, so you want that, um.
You know, I think that's important to have as part of
what you're doing with the creative sphere anymore.
(13:08):
You know, with where we're at today, a lot of it can
be just, um, odd, weird, just attracts your attention
in some strange way, even, um, as we're finding now.
But yeah, I like the, um, that that cleverness to what you're saying.
Um.
With the, um, with the college piece and everything.
I think that's really fascinating.
Um, so you, so you did that, you got that, you got that emotion.
(13:31):
What was the reaction when, when you first pitched this to the city?
Because I'm sure that was, uh, probably a bit
edgy at the time to even bring to the city.
I. Even though it is Vegas.
It was, it was very, it was very edgy.
And, and you know, the great thing about our agency is, you know, we,
we are, we are not just advertising, you know, we, we have a government
(13:53):
affairs division and we, and we have PR division and we have, you
know, all of these community relations people and everything else.
So, so we, we really knew it was gonna be that way.
So we did the work behind the scenes.
I mean, we, we went, I mean the L-V-C-V-A is, is all the hotels on the
strip and, you know, there's a big, there, they're a commission and, and,
(14:14):
uh, you know, they are a board and they all kind of decide these things.
And so we went from person to person to person and, and,
you know, did the behind the scenes work and did the
testing and, and everything else to, to, to get it through.
You know, we didn't just go in and go, Hey.
It wouldn't have gone well,
(14:36):
so, so you took time, you worked through the right people, you got it
approved little by little, and then finally got it all signed off on.
Yeah, it's the same thing that we, we, we do with a lot of the stuff.
I mean, it's the same thing.
We got the way we got the help get, um, Allegiant
on and get the Raiders and everything else.
I mean, all of those things require a whole
community and votes and all of this kind of stuff.
(14:58):
And so, you know, we go out and bring those stakeholders
together and that's what other agencies really.
Have a hard time doing if they can even try it.
Yeah, I mean, you bring up a good point because stakeholders are
very important when you're thinking about marketing and branding.
Anything.
If you just come up with a fun idea, it might be fun and clever and edgy, but
it may not, um, you know, it may not resonate with them, it may not be a fit.
(15:21):
Right.
Well, yeah, and, and as you know from most of.
You know, if you go all the way back to Apple's, um, um, brave New
World ad and if you saw the testing for that, how, how that went over
and everything else, it's like a lot of times the really, really big
ideas, people don't realize them because they're, they're ahead of their
time and so they're very hard to grab onto until they're out there.
(15:44):
And then when they're out there, you see, oh my, you
know, we really were onto something, but all of our.
You know, managers of these things and protectors said, don't do that.
And so it's tough, you know, because you wanna get something
out there that really grabs them and really, and really
sets it in motion and, but sometimes that's a scary thing.
(16:04):
Oh yeah.
Yeah.
Was there anybody out there that was opposed
to you all running this, this slogan?
Oh, I'm, I'm, I'm sure there were,
not by name of course, but.
I'm sure there were.
I mean, I mean, I, I can't, you know, it's been a long, it's been a
long time, but I know there were some, there were some voices that
were, you know, that wondered and, and you know, hey, we wondered.
(16:29):
We, we liked it, but, you know, we wanted
to go out there and talk to people about it.
And I think we talked a lot to a lot of people about this
before we, before we went forward with it, because we wanted
to make sure we weren't, you know, making some, some mistake.
But, you know, we did the work and.
It worked.
Going back to something you said earlier, 'cause I'm,
(16:50):
I'm thinking now about like the initial launch of the
campaign, getting it out there, get it, spreading it.
You said you, you really focused on the people and not the place.
What, what benefit did that, I mean, I can understand the benefit of that, but
like what, um, what other benefits did that have, like maybe from a production
perspective or a creative perspective on the initial ads that you came out with?
(17:12):
I think later on when you're really trying to shoot
the town, you see how much that, how much better that.
You're done.
You know?
And then, then when you go out and you try and shoot
something in town, you have to have all the extras and you
have to shoot in all the different locations and everything.
And, you know, it's, it's a lot, it's a lot tougher.
So production wise, it, it was great.
(17:34):
Um, I think the other thing is though, I, I don't think people really
understand that this thing really gave you permission to be and things
that's buying some crazy, you know.
Bottle of champagne or, or, or some insane dinner or whatever.
I mean, kind of everything shot up, you know, after that.
(17:55):
'cause you had this kind of extra permission
that you, that you didn't have before.
And the other thing is, one of the reasons it happened is
you really talk to people and what their fantasies are.
Everyone had a different fantasy about.
In Vegas and what they were gonna do or what they
were, you know, what their, their end goal was.
So how do you put that in an ad? You can't put everybody's ind.
(18:18):
So that led us down to that world.
Let them imagine set in.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Allow them to put themselves in that position and think
about what it could be that they do when they come.
Yeah.
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And then as it's grown over time, so like what
did that, what did that mean for the city?
I mean, obviously this comes out, it was, it was a great campaign.
I mean, everybody remembers it.
So like what?
Um, I. Maybe what was the city's response?
(19:25):
Did you actually, were you able to track any ROI for the city on the campaign?
How did that work?
Oh, yeah.
I mean, there's, there's numerous studies
that we've done and people have done it.
It, it really.
Not only, you know, brought in visitors, but, uh, again, it, it helped with
spending and everything else and, and it helped with a DR and the whole
(19:47):
thing, ADRs average daily rate of, of, uh, that they pay in the hotels.
And, and so for a long time it really, it, it did in, it did incredibly well
for the city and I. I, I believe it's a, it was a precursor to everything
that is now happening to the city with the sports and everything else.
It allowed us to, it allowed us to, to open everything up.
(20:11):
You know what I mean?
It's like so many people knew about.
You know, the tagline in the city and what you could do here and, and it
just, you know, set the imagination free as to what the city could become.
You mentioned the sports scene.
One of my, my first trip to Vegas was actually with the National
Sports Forum, and that was like a great primer for Vegas because
I actually got to, got to see the, um, the, the Las Vegas Knights.
(20:34):
Ring the ice hockey ring.
Um, they were talking, this was right before the Raiders
came in, so they were talking about the Raiders coming.
They were talking about the branding for that, the marketing for that.
I got to see the speedway, we got to see a lot of the sports stuff in
town and I didn't realize how big sports really were to Vegas at the time.
Um.
You know, I, I'd always thought of it more as a, okay, you come here
(20:56):
for vacation, you come here to, you know, see shows or, you know,
gamble or live your wildest fear in loathing in Las Vegas, fantasy
out, you know, whatever it may be, you know, adventures in Vegas.
I mean, love the cars, love things like that.
Like my, my Dream Vegas vacation is like coming there and
seeing Formula One and seeing the Vegas race because that, that
(21:18):
is something that was, people were real skeptical about it.
First, and it just turned into this, like it's,
it's become one of the best races of the season.
Um, and so I'm, you know, big, big F1 fan.
So that for me is probably the biggest thing, but just getting to be
there, be around the city itself, um, it's just a fascinating place.
Easy, easy, easy to get lost.
(21:39):
And I learned that the hard way too in my time there.
Um, but yeah, yeah.
Can't say enough about that.
But yeah, drug fueled, not so much.
I did for some reason.
I didn't think so, Chris.
But I, I had to ask.
Oh yeah.
No, no, no, no.
For sure.
So you could see just from your, just from your
fantasy of Las Vegas, you can see how hard it.
(22:01):
Everybody's fancy and you got your own, you got your own thing that, that
you wanna do, and, and everybody's got their own thing that they wanna
do, you know, and, and sometimes it's sitting at the slot machine until
4:00 AM and other times it's, you know, I wanna be at the F1 race and
then I want to go out to the track and drive my own car around the track.
You know, that kind of stuff.
So.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Last time I was in Vegas, we did get to go out to one of the car, those
(22:23):
places where they have like, um, like I think we were in a Dodge Hellcat and
we did drifting around a track and things like that as part of our project.
Um, that was a lot of fun.
But yeah, Vegas is a, you can do a lot there, like you said.
I mean, that's, that's the whole point of your, your ads and
I think it, um, yeah, really proves true in a lot of respects.
So.
(22:44):
That's cool.
So, so as, as we move our way into the future, I think that's a good tie in.
'cause you know, we're talking about sports and things like that, and it looks
like the newer, the newest campaign you all have is Las Vegas Go All Out.
Tell me, tell me about the evolution.
Yeah, so I, I, I think again, you know, showing all of the sports and showing
(23:06):
all of the, the, all of that stuff is, is a lot, is a lot tougher and, um.
It doesn't really give you the feeling of
emotion from the fans, you know what I mean?
And in Vegas, because you can be a little
bit more than you can be anywhere else.
You know?
We just took that to the next, to the next level.
You know what I mean?
(23:26):
It's like you get to see how the fans really react when they're in a city.
Is this, you know, freeing and this open that they, you
know, they do go all out and it gets, it gets even a
little bit more crazy than it would at, at another stadium.
And so I, I think that's the, that's the, that's the
point of the ad and, and a lot of the stuff we do just
(23:47):
basically says, shows how we amplify that experience.
We amplify the sports experience, we amplify the restaurant experience, the.
I've had the good fortune to go to a Wolf King
puck restaurant there, and man, incredible
(24:08):
amplified.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
I, I even got the, uh, the smoked whiskey with, like,
they bring it out and they actually smoke it for you.
And the, the wood that they use is from the
barrel that the whiskey was originally in.
And all the, it was just insane.
It was insane.
Um, but yeah, that was a great experience.
Um, but yeah, I noticed that amplification too.
(24:30):
And the sports thing particularly struck home to me because.
Last time I was in Vegas, there was a, um,
I think it was near the, the NFL playoffs.
It was in November, and there was like Kansas City there playing the Raiders.
Um, and I just remember going through the airport, like le leaving and coming.
It was people in Kansas City gear and um, you
(24:50):
know, and in Raiders gear and stuff like that.
And I just, the it
Did you go to the game?
I did not, no.
I was, I was there for a conference, unfortunately,
so I was there for the Amazon Reinvent conference.
Um, which in itself is a, like wild world of an experience.
Um, just with how big and how many people are there and how
much money just goes into turning basically Las Vegas into an
(25:12):
Amazon billboard and tech billboards, um, for that time period.
But yeah, it was, but the crazy thing was like, that ad felt very much
like the experience I had going to and from the hotel of just seeing
the fans and stuff there, it was like, oh yeah, I've, I've been there.
That's Vegas, that this, this.
Fits the bill.
Well, if you were into the game, you'd probably see a, a more, more, um,
(25:35):
Kansas City fans than you would think you would see at a, at a Raider game.
You know what I mean?
That's the kind of the, the difference in Vegas is that, is that
the fans, that a lot of the fans are from the other, are from the
other team because they wanna come and, and see the game here.
And so it's a, it's a super interesting, uh, uh, experience.
(25:56):
Yeah.
It's a spectacle.
It truly is.
Yeah.
Spectacles exactly what exactly what we call it a lot.
Yeah.
So yeah, it's, I mean this, this campaign has had huge influence,
um, over the years and yeah, I've just found it fascinating.
So thank you for taking the time to talk to me about that today.
I think there's a lot there.
(26:17):
Is there anything else from the campaign over the years where you're like,
Hey, this was my favorite part, or, this is one thing that I think has
been one of the biggest, most impactful things for me during this time.
I.
So, uh, one of the things that, you know, we, we, we can talk about is that
Vegas has, you know, has gone through some really, really tough times too.
You know, we had the one October shooting and, um, we had, uh, and you
(26:37):
know, we had the pandemic where the whole town closed down and everything.
And our, um, you know, r and r is.
Involved in all that stuff, you know, um, during the one
October shooting, we, we kind of became a, a, a control room
for, for what was going on message wise in the city and, and
logistics and a lot of different, a lot of different things.
(26:59):
Same thing for the, when the pandemic was going on.
And so, you know, we took a big part in that stuff and so I.
I, I, I love it when, you know, we do the shock emotion
and the, and the, those that really guide you that way.
But I also, you know, we did a lot of emotional stuff during one
October, um, you know, with Andre Agassi and, uh, and a kind of
(27:21):
a manifesto about Vegas Strong that went out and everything else.
And so, and so we, you know, we, we go both sides of the, of
the, of the thing here in protecting, in protecting the city.
And, uh, and so a lot of people don't realize
really what goes into to keeping this hole.
I.
(27:46):
You know, you all are doing more than just always being fun and happy, right?
Like, there, there are some serious parts to r and r where it's
like, hey, we, we have a relationship to maintain with the city,
and we're helping them communicate to their, you know, their cons.
I would say constituents, that's not the right word.
Um, citizens.
Well, the city, the city has a voice.
(28:07):
The, the visitors, um, the people that live here.
All of the, all of the sports things that we've
done, we've needed to bring in the stakeholders.
We've needed to work with all of the people in the city, but
we've also needed to get the messaging out to, to people.
We've needed to get votes, we needed to do all that stuff.
And so, you know, we, we we're constantly doing that, that, that kind of stuff.
(28:28):
So, and whenever something goes wrong, you
know, we're doing crisis management, you.
Besides just the marketing advertising part, you know,
which, which is the, is the fun part that everybody sees.
You know, what goes on behind the scenes with, with, with our client and,
and everything else is a, is a whole different, whole different story.
(28:50):
Although I will say any, ask anybody around here, I'm super happy all the time.
That's good.
That's good.
Yeah.
But you still have to have those serious moments from time to time.
I get that.
Yeah.
That's, that's neat.
Um, so what about the future?
What, what, what's the future for, for Vegas?
Is there anything that you see coming, that you all are doing that
(29:13):
you're like, Hey, this is really exciting and I can let you in on it?
Or, it's okay if not, but just curious.
So, you know, we, we do, we do have a new campaign that's gonna come out soon.
Uh, uh, and it's not, you know, based in what happens here,
states, or I can't tell you what it's based in, but it promises
to be, um, super fun, cool campaign that, that we're gonna do.
(29:35):
We also, we just had Vegas' 120th.
You know, birthday party.
Oh, wow.
And, um, and one of the things that we talk about in it is that,
that Vegas has really not even close to reaching its potential.
Hmm.
I mean, this is this kind of city.
I, so, so who knows, you know, what's next?
I mean, I probably shouldn't even tell the story, but I'm gonna tell it.
(29:56):
I don't care.
Um, so on April Fools, uh, a few years ago, um, we were gonna put out this.
This website and this piece that said that a hotel was gonna be built
here called the the subterranean, and that it was, and that it was
gonna be built underground, so many miles close to the magma of the
(30:17):
earth, where you would have a magma spa and all this stuff, right?
And so we thought this was really fun for, for
April Fools, but there were people who said.
No, we, I mean, not only will it be believable,
maybe somebody's already planning it.
(30:37):
That's the city, you know, you can barely even do an April Fools on this
city because you, you never know what they're going to do or what they're
going to try or what plans are in the, or in the hopper, which is, which is.
Fantastic.
Well, I mean, I could see underground working well for a city
like Las Vegas where it's so hot all the time and, um, you know,
(30:59):
see, you were already totally, completely believing it.
You would've, you would've, you would've, you would've bought right into it.
I know.
I would've bought it hook, line, and sinker.
That's great.
That's exciting.
Um.
Well, yeah, that's, that is, um, that's fascinating.
So I, I can't wait for that to come out.
Um, when, when will we be seeing that get released?
(31:20):
Do you have any idea?
Just so listeners, viewers can know?
I don't know the exact date, but soon.
Very soon.
Okay.
Cool.
Awesome.
Well, Arnie, thank you for your time today.
This has, this has been really cool just
to dive into Vegas and learn more about it.
Um, you know, as we wrap up, I always like to ask the question,
(31:41):
you know, what brand do you admire the most right now?
And be curious to get your input on that.
Well, you're gonna, you're gonna find this weird,
but my favorite brand right now is Nathan Fielder.
Oh my gosh, yes.
I've been watching.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Have you watched the latest version of the rehearsal?
Yes, I've seen every episode.
(32:01):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So he's trying to, he's, he's, he's trying to help stop plane
crashes by bringing pilots and their copilots together in the
weirdest, most entertaining, most sometimes cringe worthy.
Roundabout insane way, but it's the most creative thing I've, I've seen in a
long, long time, and his brand has been that way and building to this moment.
(32:25):
So he's, he's, he's my favorite brand in the world right now.
I, I, I just have not seen anything that creative in a, in a long time.
Yeah, he's, he is definitely, um, yeah, he's definitely fascinating to me.
'cause like I've, I've been spending time like digging into it on Reddit.
'cause I'm like, how much this is real?
How much this is fake?
(32:46):
What do people think, what do people observe?
And it's like, it, it almost doesn't matter.
Like, you, you should really just throw
out any just assumption of it being like.
Oh, these people are a hundred percent real, or these people are fake.
And just, just just live in the moment and enjoy the story.
'cause it's, it's, you're right, it's cringe-worthy, but it's
also like at times, like laugh out loud, funny, um, in tears.
(33:09):
So yeah.
I, I, yeah, the, the, um, the rehearsal is what it's called.
The rehearsal has just been fantastic.
I would, I would agree that's a great brand.
His brand in general though, if you watch his
arc. Where he started and everything else.
And how he ended up there is, is, is pretty amazing.
I mean, he really hasn't, he hasn't done any backtracking, you know what I mean?
(33:32):
Mm-hmm.
He is moving forward and I don't know where he's going next.
Uh, you know, I like to, I like to look at Vegas
that way, that we're always kind of moving forward.
You never know where we're gonna end up.
And he's, uh, uh, very much that brand.
Yeah.
Well, it's what, it's what makes him fascinating
and I, I think it's fair to call him a brand 'cause.
One of the refrains I see often on my research
(33:55):
on the internet is, you know, Nathan is Nathan.
He's not going to change.
That's the thing you have to understand about him.
And once you get that, you can get the jokes a little bit better and why he
always kind of makes himself the butt of the joke by the end of the series.
Yeah, and it's fun to see people get riled up about it too.
'cause he does some edgy stuff.
(34:17):
He does.
I mean, the giant, yeah.
I, I, let's not get into it, but the, the episode,
the solely episode, right?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
I laughed so hard at that.
Yeah.
It's the best.
Yeah, it's the best.
Yeah.
That's, I, I would agree.
I think he's, he's doing a great job and, um, yeah.
(34:38):
It's just, it's a fun show.
Yeah.
So.
Awesome.
Well, cool.
Well, Nathan Fielder is.
Definitely on the list.
Um, for those who haven't seen it, should definitely check it out.
Um, I mean, it's like, it, it's every, I guess this is what's
coming in the back of my head is like he, he's literally like
every marketer's, like worst impulse and he just does it.
(34:59):
It's like if you've ever had a bad idea and you
want to pitch it and see it happen, he's done it.
Um, and brought it to life, and I love that about him.
This whole thing, this whole thing of building this fake world that he
builds is, is just amazing with this blank paycheck from HBO where he builds
the whole airport and he builds the community and he builds everything.
(35:22):
It's just like, and you don't know what you're, you know what you're watching.
It's, it's.
I like the way he put it.
He said, I've got a blank check as long as I don't go over budget.
Yeah.
So, yeah.
It's so, it's so good.
Um, so good.
But yeah, people should definitely check that out.
That's, that's a good one.
Um, all right, well, where can people connect with you?
(35:43):
Where can people learn more about r and r if they
want to get, um, more information on, on your agency?
Yeah, and I'll, I'll send them to the right person if they,
if I can't answer their questions, which is often the case.
(36:04):
Well, that's great.
Well, Arnie, thank you so much.
This has been a pleasure talking to you today.
Lemme say that again.
Got my words a little mixed up there.
All right, Arnie.
Well it's been a pleasure talking to you today.
Thank you so much for coming on the show.
Thanks for having me.
It was super fun.
Thank you.
Absolutely.
Take care.
Thanks for checking out this episode of We Built This Brand.
Don't forget to like and subscribe on your player of choice.
(36:27):
You can also keep up with the podcast on we built this brand.com.
If you like this episode, please give the podcast a five
star review and make sure to tell all your friends about it.
So we can continue to build this brand.
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