So What About A Slogan For Michigan?

I was curious about some billboards we saw on our way back to Michigan today. Something about "Pure Michigan". What's up with that? Didn't our slogan have something to do with a winter wonderland? So I decided to check it out.

First I discovered that it did indeed use to be "Winter & Water Wonderland" but some thought that was rather old and tired. According to Wikipedia the new slogan is "Great Lakes, Great Times; More To See". Sounds a wee bit lame to me. Nor does it jibe with the billboards we saw.

So my search continued until I found a product naming blog called NameWire that gives the lowdown on how the original new slogan "Find Your True North" apparently offended those in the southern part of the state (i.e., Detroit) so it was changed to “Dive into the Waters of Pure Michigan.” SERIOUSLY LAME. I'm with NameWire that this was "a lost opportunity for the state of Michigan to own an emotional positioning in the mind of the consumer." I mean, come on people, the whole state of Michigan is IN THE NORTH. Any farther north and you're in Canada. Do folks in Detroit think the rest of the country (or world) won't get that? Duh!

"Find Your True North" is so much catchier than blah, blah, blah (see, I can't even remember the real slogan). It brings to mind crystal clear lakes and rivers, lush forests, cute cabins in the woods. Wouldn't you like to vacation in a place like that?

One of my most favorite places in the WHOLE WORLD is right here in Michigan: lovely Ludington on the shores of Lake Michigan. Good friends have a cottage on the lake and they are so gracious in allowing us to use it each year. I'll let you in on a secret. When we went to Africa I took one photo album with me. Didn't have room for more than that. I included pictures of people I love, both family and friends. I also included one page of pictures from Ludington. I'm pretty sure God's going to have a corner of heaven that looks a lot like this. So anyway, I think we'll be able to get away there for a few days sometime in the next two weeks. AND.I.CAN'T.WAIT. I will take my camera. I will take nothing else because everything else is already there.
I will sit on this porch enjoying the view of the lake over the tops of other cottages, take walks along the beach, curl up in the bed under the eaves and read... Just a little bit of heaven here on earth. In Michigan. Where I've Found My True North.