“Oregon, You’re More Than Welcome Here” is the Oregon slogan introduced in 1984 to supplement the previous slogan (since 1959), “Pacific Wonderland” The slogan attempted to remedy a problem about Californians who had felt unwelcome in the state.
The “Oregon, You’re More Than Welcome Here” slogan was replaced in 1988 with “Oregon, Things Look Different Here.”
Google News Archive
15 November 1984, The Bulletin (Bend, OR), “New tourism plan discussed: Atiyeh coy on tax plan,” pg. 4, cols. 2-4:
EUGENE (UPI)—Gov. Vic Atiyeh played coy with county officials, asking their support for a tax relief and reform plan he won’t detail now, and then moved on to a tourism conference where he unveiled the slogan “Oregon—You’re More Than Welcome.”
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The governor said the new program will focus turning Oregonians into tourist welcomers.
A state study of Californians showed 42 of those surveyed said they weren’t welcome in Oregon, he said, noting, “Clearly we have a lot to do beyond blowing up the sign at the border.”
Google News Archive
12 February 1985, The Bulletin (Bend, OR), “Tourism campaign announced” by Doug Dollemere, pg. B2, cols. 2-3:
Tourists in Central Oregon may feel more welcome this spring and summer if a promotional campaign unveiled Monday is successful.
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The program will be tied to the state’s tourism campaign, “Oregon, you’re more than welcome.” Kathleen Cody, coordinator of the Central Oregon Recreation Association, said the promotions are important because surveys across the nation indicate Oregon has a negative image.
“We have 42 percent of Californians who still think we don’t want them (know) that they’re welcome here,” she said.
The new campaign supplements the “Company’s coming” promotion that began in 1980.
Google New Archive
5 November 1987, The Bulletin (Bend, OR), “Oregon image pondered,” pg. B6, col. 1:
McMINNVILLE (UPI)—Oregon should dump the slogan “Oregon, You’re More than Welcome” and attempt to project a different image, the state director of tourism said.
“People are tired of ‘You’re More than Welcome,” because it deals with a perceived problem of the past,” Deborah Kennedy, director of the state Tourist Division, told the Economic Development Commission Wednesday.
She was referring to Oregon’s past reputation as a state that did not welcome visitors.
Google News Archive
13 February 1988, The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR), “A different slogan” (editorial), pg. 16A, cols. 1-2:
State tourism officials plan to spend $600,000 on a promotional campaign to lure visitors from Washington and California this spring and summer. The centerpiece of the campaign is the slogan, “Oregon. Things look different here.”
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But we’re willing to give the state’s new slogan a try. It’s more intriguing than the gushy slogan it replaces, “Oregon. You’re more than welcome,” which made the state seem like a puppy that would lick the face of whoever walked through the door.
OregonLive.com
Sequential identities
The process of branding Oregon that shapes and updates its image over the years continues as the state celebrates its sesquicentennial
Saturday, February 14, 2009
LAURA OPPENHEIMER
The Oregonian Staff
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It begins with a slogan. Oregon has marketed itself as a “Pacific Wonderland” where “You’re More Than Welcome” and “Things Look Different Here.” In 2003, the team debuted “Oregon, We Love Dreamers.”