Andre Agassi, tennis legend and Las Vegas native, is the voice of a new ad campaign seeking to unite Sin City after the Mandalay Bay massacre.
In an commercial advertisement released Wednesday, the 47-year-old former world No. 1 speaks on what it means to be Vegas strong.
‘What is strength? Strength isn’t anger. Strength isn’t vengeful. Strength isn’t rage. Strength is unity,’ Agassi says, as the Vegas skyline comes into view.
He continues: ‘Strength is valet parkers who become medics, mothers who become emergency responders, sisters who shield brothers because they love them with a love that has no bounds.
Andre Agassi voices a new ad campaign for Las Vegas following the Mandalay Bay massacre. Above, a screenshot of the end of a commercial Agassi voiced
‘Strength is first responders who tirelessly carry visitors and locals alike to safety until sunrise. It’s our medics and surgeons, all of them, who come running to the calls of those in need. It’s the police who turn over every stone to make this city safe again. It’s the local businesses that became sanctuaries for people to run to.
Agassi, the former world no. 1 tennis player, is a Las Vegas native who still lives in his hometown
‘Strength isn’t evil or misguided. Strength is the voice of community and love in the face of the unspeakable.
‘Strength is when we all pull together and rise up, all of us in every corner of this world. Strength is what we all are today and strength is our promise for tomorrow.’
At the end of the clip, the Las Vegas strip is fully illuminated and then fades to black again.
Then the words ‘From Andre Agassi and all of us’ flashes up on the scene, above the Las Vegas logo, followed by #VegasStrong.
The advertisement was commissioned by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
‘Our community needed a rallying cry,’ authority President and CEO Rossi Ralenkotter told the Las Vegas Sun. ‘The other part of it that came up in our discussions is we wanted to show a community that was united in Las Vegas and also give something for our community to hold on to help get them through this traumatic experience.’
The campaign also includes the above ads. They were commissioned by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority
So they went to R&R Partners, the Las Vegas-based firm that does all of their advertising – and the minds behind the popular ‘What Happens Here, Stays Here’ campaign.
In addition to the Agassi commercial, the firm has also created ads that have already popped up across the city – on digital billboards at the airport and marquee displays at the major hotels.
These ads include two lines of white copy against a black backdrop, with the Las Vegas strip at the bottom.
The ad reads: ‘We’ve been there for you during the good times. Thank you for being there for us now.’
Arnie DiGeorge, creative director at R&R, told AdWeek that the advertisement was one of the easier things his team has come up with.
‘I hate to say this, but it was pretty easy,’ DiGeorge said. ‘Most of the stuff we’ve been doing is based on what we’re hearing and what we’re experiencing. We’re trying to be as truthful and emotional as we can.’
‘One of the things we realized was the outpouring of support from everywhere. All we could think of was: These are all the people who visit us. These are the people that we’ve shown a good time to. They’ve seen us at our absolute best. And look what they gave us back. It was a really, really easy line to write. It was where a few of the writers were immediately headed,’ DiGeorge added.
After coming up with the idea of the ad, they started throwing around ideas of who to voice it.
‘We thought, “What about Andre Agassi?” He grew up here. He’s a native Las Vegan and while he’s an international sports star, he has always gone back to his roots in Las Vegas,’ Ralenkotter said. ‘He was contacted and didn’t even hesitate. He just said yes and “What do you want me to do?”‘
The ad was released on social media Wednesday morning and will soon start playing on cable and network TV across the country.