Nevada Communities Have Long Found A Good Slogan Can Be Useful

   Many Nevada cities and towns have found promotional gold in adopting a colorful slogan to help promote themselves. Undoubtedly the most famous is Reno's "Biggest Little City in the World" slogan, which has appeared on several different archways spanning Virginia Street since 1929.

   The art of civic sloganeering, in fact, has proven to be a winning strategy for many communities, even to present times.

   For example, during the past two decades one of the most successful slogans has been the city of Las Vegas’ “What Happens Here, Stays Here” slogan. Created by the R and R Partners advertising agency in Las Vegas for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the slogan became part of the national zeitgeist, appearing in films, on television shows, and in countless social media posts.

   Today, a variation of the slogan, “What Happens Here, Only Happens Here,” continues to be used in the city’s promotional campaigns.

   Over the years, Las Vegas has utilized a number of slogans. In the late 1930s, the community’s promotional slogan was “Las Vegas, City of Destiny,” meant to show it was a city on the move, and in the late 1940s, it embraced the phrase, “Still A Frontier Town,” to reinforce its modern yet still old west image, which was reflected in several of its resorts such as the New Frontier and the El Rancho.

   The city of Henderson, which is Nevada’s second largest city, also has its own slogan. In an effort to say that it has all the amenities of a big city but with smaller-town values, Henderson uses the slogan, “Henderson—A Place to Call Home.”

   Of course, Nevada’s smaller communities also have hung their promotional hats on their own slogans, some of which have been used for years, such as:

   • “Fallon: The Oasis of Nevada.” This phrase spotlights the fact that Fallon is an agricultural community, home of the Hearts of Gold cantaloupes, fields of alfalfa, and other crops.

   • “Tonopah: Queen of the Silver Camps.” No surprise here because Tonopah was founded in 1900 following the discovery of rich silver deposits in the area.

   • “Eureka: The Friendliest Town on the Loneliest Road.” A slogan of more recent vintage, this phrase was adopted by Eureka because of its location on U.S. 50, which is known as “The Loneliest Road in America.” The slogan is a nod toward that designation while also telling travelers that they will find a welcoming, friendly place during their journey across the state.

   • “Beatty: Gateway to Death Valley.” This slogan is pretty straightforward. It essentially says, ‘if you’re going to Death Valley National Park, the best way to get there is through Beatty.’

   • “Virginia City: Step Back in Time.” This is another fairly straightforward slogan. As one of Nevada’s premier historic mining communities, with a largely intact frontier business district, cemeteries, churches and other sites, Virginia City remains an opportunity to experience the past in the present.

   • "Cattle Kingdom in the Copper Hills" - This descriptive phrase has long been my favorite town slogan. It was used to promote Yerington for many decades, and said everything you needed to know about the community, namely that it was a cattle-raising area that also had a thriving copper mining industry. A classic billboard, which carried the slogan, stood at the entrance to the town from the 1960s to the early 1990s, when it was, sadly, destroyed in a rainstorm and not replaced.