Failed Experience Regina tourism rebrand over as organization reverts to Tourism Regina

After a month of criticism, ridicule and international media attention, Regina is pulling the plug on the failed rebrand of its tourism entity to Experience Regina.

It is going back to its original name of Tourism Regina and reactivating its website and social media channels under that name. 

The board of directors for Regina Exhibition Association Limited (REAL) — the organization in charge of tourism promotion in the city — announced the decision on Thursday.

Experience Regina failed to return multiple calls from CBC over the past two weeks. 

"The decision has been made to return to Tourism Regina's name," said Wayne Morsky, chair of REAL's board on Thursday. 

"This will allow us to return to work and support the local visitors economy as we head into a busy spring and summer season."

As a result of the consultations, REAL announced plans for a review, conducted by a third-party, to examine all aspects of the development of the Experience Regina brand and its launch. 

REAL is in the process of finalizing the contract with the third-party and would not disclose how much the review could cost or how long it could take. 

LISTEN | Mayor addresses concerns about Experience Regina's marketing campaign:

Morsky said no one has been fired or punished for the rebrand and Tourism Regina's CEO Tim Reid — who previously took responsibility for the campaign —  remains on the job. 

The board hasn't yet spoken about holding one person or multiple people accountable, he said.

"I think it's more important for us to have a quality review done … so that we can learn from it and make sure it doesn't happen in the future," he said. 

Any decision related to Experience Regina will occur once the review is complete and REAL said it will engage local community groups to ensure their long-term brand strategy is supported by everyone. 

The review will be finalized in a report and submitted to Regina city council, Morsky confirmed. 

What's in a name?

Rebranding Tourism Regina to Experience Regina was initially sold as leaning into an old joke that is often made about the city due to it sounding similar to a word for genitalia. 

When the Rolling Stones arrived in Saskatchewan's capital city in 2006, Mick Jagger even cracked a joke to the 40,000 fans in attendance.

"Someone told me, 'Regina, it rhymes with fun,'" he said.

A viral song popularized the phrase Experience Regina when it was uploaded to YouTube in 2008.

A decade later the synth-heavy song fronted by an off-key vocalist found a new wave of popularity after Jimmy Fallon played the song on The Tonight Show, prompting laughs from Fallon's co-host, members of his band and its audience.

The relaunch on March 13 received substantial fanfare with Mayor Sandra Masters and Reid being joined by the federal Tourism Minister Randy Boissonnault as he announced nearly $6 million for tourism in Saskatchewan.

However, quite a few people raised concerns about the decision by a city-funded organization to employ a crude joke as its name.

The newly named Experience Regina continued to retreat as attention focused on the use of sexualized slogans such as "Show us your Regina" and "The city that rhymes with fun."

Hoodies that had been created in partnership with 22Fresh and emblazoned with "The city that rhymes with fun" sold out quickly but were scrapped entirely amidst the backlash.

The rebrand and the furor around it grew large enough that it attracted the attention of the New York Post and Washington Post. 

Questions remain despite apology

Questions remain about who ultimately signed off on the slogans that drew the biggest flak.

Just five days after announcing the rebrand, Reid would apologize on behalf of himself and his team "for the negative impact" created by the attempt to lean into what many saw as a crude joke. 

"The city didn't appreciate it and our community didn't appreciate it and we just were wrong," Reid said.

Masters has called the slogan sexist and wrong.

Masters also said the controversial slogans were not part of the preview given to city council ahead of the launch, a fact that was confirmed by multiple councillors. 

In the immediate aftermath of the backlash, Ward 1 Coun. Cheryl Stadnichuk said she was planning to gather six signatures from council members needed to request a special council meeting and attempt to hold those who came up with the campaign accountable. 

The City of Regina's clerk's office confirmed that as of Wednesday an application had not been received. 

Since the initial comments from Masters and Reid, Experience Regina has remained silent.

Other than issuing a statement it has not posted on its social media channels since March 20. 

The organization's website was wiped and it only showed a blue page. On Thursday, the website began redirecting all visitors to the now re-activated Tourism Regina web address.