BRADENTON BEACH – City officials expressed concerns about an advertisement the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) recently ran in the Miami Herald that encouraged south Floridians to “make a break” for Anna Maria Island.
Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie and Bradenton Beach Police Department Lt. John Cosby commented on the CVB ad during the city commission’s Tuesday, July 14 weekly emergency special city commission meeting.
“I let her know that I was disheartened that an ad was going out to encourage people from other communities to come here.” – John Chappie, Bradenton Beach Mayor
The CVB ad ran in the Sunday, July 5 Miami Herald. The ad pictured a couple walking on a beach and featured the same “Make a Break For It” online promotional language that still appears at the CVB website.
“This is it, your chance to escape. If you’re ready for a break from staying inside your home, we have a destination perfect for those ready to break free. Enjoy the wide-open freedom of a serene island beach, the sprawling splendor of nature preserves, and the thrill of outdoor activities on Florida’s West Coast. It’s finally time to plan your escape to Bradenton/Anna Maria Island/Longboat Key, and Make a Break For It,” the Miami Herald ad said.
The ad ran during the same weekend that beaches in Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Broward counties were closed for the holiday weekend due to COVID-19 cases increasing in south Florida.
Chappie said he called County Administrator Cheri Coryea about the ad.
“I let her know that I was disheartened that an ad was going out to encourage people from other communities to come here,” Chappie told the commission.
“Apparently, it was a package deal that was purchased a while back. We can’t do that, not now. She understood and they will be talking about it. I also told her that if you’re doing stuff like that at the very least you should own the new reality and highly recommend that if you want to visit our communities you need to mask up,” he said.
Cosby also commented on the ad.
“During the week of the Fourth of July, we had people showing up at the beach at 3 o’clock in the morning. They left Miami, drove over here and were planning to sleep in their vehicles until the sun came up and then go to the beach. We do not allow parking at beaches overnight, so we spent a lot of time moving people out of those beach areas. They were not staying in hotels. They came up strictly for the day. People are coming here on their own. I don’t know how much we have to advertise it,” Cosby said.
Commissioner Ralph Cole expressed concerns about beach closings elsewhere in the state impacting Anna Maria Island beaches.
“When the other counties close their beaches down, it puts a big burden on the rest of the counties around the state, especially on the super busy weekends. I’d really like to see them rethink their ideas of closing their beaches down,” Cole said.
“Over the Fourth of July, we got a lot of people from Broward County and Dade County because they closed their beaches. Those people probably would have stayed put had they had the opportunity to go to their beaches. I think everybody in the state needs to work together. I was kind of disappointed that they closed the beaches on the other coast,” Cole said.
When contacted about the Miami Herald ad, CVB Director Elliott Falcione said via email, “We were given a free advertisement from the Bradenton Herald in the Miami Herald for Sunday, July 5th as part of an added value buy. However, we have not been targeting Miami/Fort Lauderdale with our digital advertising since we relaunched our drive market around June 1st.”
When asked if the CVB was running any promotions in Brazil, another area hard hit by the coronavirus, Falcione said, “The CVB has never placed advertising in Brazil and has no plans anytime in the future.”
As of Monday, the “Make a Break For It” campaign was still active at the CVB website: www.bradentongulfislands.com/make-a-break-for-it.
