The University of Wyoming’s new ad campaign line, “The World Needs More Cowboys,” is attracting more attention than anticipated, not all of it positive.
Some people have raised concerns about the kind of message “The World Needs More Cowboys” and the accompanying tagline “Bucking the System Since 1886” sends, questioning if it is inclusive of everyone at the university. When asked if they felt that the term cowboy was inclusive Callie Clingman, an agricultural education major said
“Yes, it is super broad and can mean cowboy, cowgirl, anyone who is willing to buckle down and face challenges.”
“We weren’t planning on launching it until mid-September, but over the summer there were some individuals on campus who didn’t like it and went to the media with their concerns,” said Chad Baldwin, a member of the Institutional Marketing and Communications unit for the University.
With negative attention coming from the media and support others on campus in rebuttal, the department decided to launch the campaign early.
“The campaign launched by itself and we needed to move forward with it,” Baldwin said.
Put to a vote in July, the board of trustees came to the unanimous decision to approve a new recruitment campaign for the university. Members of the board are all UW alumni and most have lived in Wyoming their whole lives. With a campaign fueled by large-scale coordinated advertising, the board of trustees hoped to bring in more students with a new look at the university.
The campaign allotment totals about $1.4 million with nearly half of that going towards media efforts to reach prospective students in key regions. Recently the main page of the UW website received a redesign focused around this campaign. The last large-scale campaign the university launched was more than 15 years ago with a tagline of “New Thinking.” This new advertising for the university is more encompassing with increased resources.
Information released about the campaign states that the campaign is trying to promote the idea that a cowboy isn’t what you are but who you are. The campaign involves a list of accompanying taglines including “The World Needs More Unyielding Courage,” “The World Needs More Outside Thinkers” and “The World Needs More Relentless Curiosity,” all underneath the umbrella of the main message.
Criticism of the campaign stems from the conception that the tagline has become the slogan for the university as a whole. Baldwin clarified it is part of a marketing campaign, not a university slogan, and will be in use for only three to five years.
“Historically the university has never had a slogan,” Baldwin said.
Positive feedback from students and “an overwhelmingly supportive response,” Baldwin said, indicates that the campaign may be successful in attracting more students to the university. He is excited and optimistic about the results.
“We’re expecting positive results with lasting benefits,” Baldwin said, “including enrollment increase, increased private giving, as well as a sense of pride about the university.”
