Posted on 29 June 2010

So, I guess I kind of helped break a minor news story yesterday when I noticed that a radio station in Vancouver had posted a contest to send two listeners to the “armpit of the interior” (Prince George) to see Elton John. The copy started with ““Prince George, The Armpit of BC’s Interior… Where the key economic driver is welfare and toothbrush sales don’t exist… because no one has any teeth!” and went from there (full text here). This morning Daybreak played my interview with them, which garnered a fair amount of feedback, and the story has spread. Now, before we go further, I think it’s important to hear, rather than read, the commercial, because as I said before it comes off a lot more tongue-in-cheek on the air.
http://www.993thedrive.com/plugins/content/jw_allvideos/includes/download.php?file=images/media/audio/thedrive/062910_crockspot.mp3
Local classic rock station the Drive has shot back with its own take on the contest:
http://www.993thedrive.com/plugins/content/jw_allvideos/includes/download.php?file=images/media/audio/thedrive/062910_jackspot.mp3
Opinion250.com has launched its own contest to provide reasons why Prince George is better for concerts than Vancouver.
And local MLAs Shirley Bond and Pat Bell have weighed in.
Surprisingly, it’s even reached the top spot on the Globe and Mail’s most viewed stories:

wow?

“Prince George… The Jewel Stone of BC’s Interior. Where the key economic driver is harvesting money trees and toothbrush sales don’t exist… because everyone’s teeth are perfect. Where the only thing that smells sweeter than the roses is the aplle pie cooling on window sills and the air is so fresh everyone lives to be 105!
Which makes it blatantly obvious why Elton John would book a tour stop there!
And because it’s Elton, we’re going to send you… We’re just not sure which is better… Seeing Elton John… Or spending a beautiful evening in Prince George.
Sir Elton John – Friday, July 16th at the Prince George CN Centre… in Prince George! Enter Now by logging in and answering a few questions about your knowledge of the city of Prince George.
Prize includes:
– 2 tickets to see Elton John on July 16th at the CN Centre.
– 2 adult flights
– Hotel accommodations for 2 adults
– $200 spending money.”

Heck, they’ve even changed the picture from this:

To this:

Although I think I detect a hint of sarcasm in there– after all, their special “Prince George” line still encourages us “backwoods” citizens to try and use words with “more than one syllable” when complaining about the contest.
With the back-and-forth kicking into high gear, I want to reiterate my comments from yesterday– this is clearly being done in the most ignorant way possible for humorous effect. Fight back, sure, but don’t take it too seriously. Remember back when the major Prince George rivalry was Kamloops? Welcome to the next league up.
And, if you’re interested, here’s my interview that aired this morning:
https://andrewkurjata.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Rock101interview.mp3
***UPDATE*** the Prince George Free Press brings us word that Mayor Dan Rogers will be appearing on Rock 101 sometime next week to dissuade them of their views***

Filed under: Best Of, CBC, personal, Prince George