"Virginia is for Lovers" has become a much-imitated part of the national language, even in other states’ travel promotions. The "I (heart) New York" slogan, for example, appeared later in the mid-’70s.

"Virginia is for Lovers" on Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame

By popular vote, "Virginia is for Lovers" was inducted into the Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame on September 21, 2009. The slogan was included in the Advertising Icon Museum alongside fellow 2009 inductees, the AOL Running Man, the Budweiser Clydesdales, and State Farm's "Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm is There." This recognition came on the heels of Forbes.com tapping "Virginia is for Lovers" as one of the top ten tourism marketing campaigns of all time.

The Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame (located between 42nd and 50th streets in New York City) was created by Advertising Week, the largest gathering of advertising, media and marketing professionals in North America. The Grand Central Partnership and Advertising Week organizers have brought the Walk of Fame to life with a combination of bronze plaques and permanent lamppost street banners on Madison Avenue.

The Walk of Fame was created to celebrate great advertising icons and slogans, as well as recognize their business and role in brand building.

The Year was 1969

The timing was right in 1969 when the Virginia State Travel Service (now the Virginia Tourism Corporation) adopted what would become its world-renowned "Virginia is for Lovers" slogan. The Travel Service could not have known that the Yippies would become Yuppies — and later, Boomers — or that the Volkswagen microbus with the peace sign on the dashboard would give way to the station wagon as the official car of a generation, but they knew where the future was in tourism: a new generation of visitors.

A favorite book in 1969 was Erich Segal’s Love Story. Jacqueline Susann’s The Love Machine was a best seller. Henry Mancini scored with Love Theme from "Romeo and Juliet." The Woodstock Music and Art Fair in 1969 drew more than 300,000 young people for a weekend of peace, music and mud. Given the tenor of the times, the roll-out of "Virginia is For Lovers" appealed to younger consumers who were the market of the future.

The Ad Agency

The phrase came from a creative team headed by George Woltz of Martin & Woltz Inc., the Richmond advertising agency that won the Virginia State Travel Service account in 1968. According to Martin, a $100-a-week copywriter named Robin McLaughlin came up with an advertising concept that read, "Virginia is for history lovers." For a beach-oriented ad, the headline would have read, "Virginia is for beach lovers"; for a mountains ad, "Virginia is for mountain lovers," and so on. Martin thought the approach might be too limiting. Woltz agreed, and the agency dropped the modifier and made it simply "Virginia is for Lovers." The first ad mentioning the new slogan ran in the March 1969 issue of "Modern Bride."

The phrase was considered bold and provocative, but it was also just plain smart from a marketing perspective. It planted a seed — a new image of a more exciting Virginia — with a generation that would become the most sought-after group of spenders ever to wield a credit card.

Virginia is for Lovers of . . .

No one knows exactly why "Virginia is for Lovers" has been so durable, but part of the mystique of the slogan is that it has meant many things to different people. Today, a new generation is discovering love for Virginia’s mountains, beaches, history, theme parks, vibrant cities, outdoor activities, sports and hospitality.

And the love story continues.