Bereft of New Ideas, Las Vegas Offers Weekly Fireworks to Lure Visitors
Las Vegas tourism officials are running on empty when it comes to marketing ideas, so they’re falling back on a tried-and-true crowd-pleaser: Pew-pew.
There will be free fireworks displays on the Las Vegas Strip every Saturday from June 6 to July 25, 2026.
How unoriginal is this idea? Plaza has been doing weekly fireworks downtown for the last three years. Awkward.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) has been feeling the pressure of last year’s decrease in visitation, about a 7.5% drop from 2024.
In response to concerns, the LVCVA worked with its creative agency, R&R Partners, to whip up the wildly-uninspired “Fabulous” campaign that made a splash for, oh, 20 minutes.
They did a snazzy video that included the cringeworthy lyrics, “I need something to chase, something to melt this face.” We are not making this up.
They presumably spent millions on that campaign. We wrote the lyrics of a song and had A.I. create a finished product in 30 minutes at the cost of zero dollars. We will take “You can get rich quick if you’ve got the stones” over “I need something to chase, something to melt this face” any day of the week.
Are we so presumptuous to think our song is better than the one created by our greatest minds at a professional ad agency and the LVCVA? Of course. Do you know this blog at all?
Anyway, fireworks!
Sigh.
Fireworks are the equivalent of jangling keys in front of a baby.
Fireworks are lowest common denominator eye candy.
Fireworks are all about attention, empty calories, not real engagement or loyalty.
Fireworks are misdirection from the fact the LVCVA and R&R haven’t had any better ideas than “What happens here, stays here,” and they came up with that in 2003, or a quarter century ago.
Can you imagine the LVCVA meeting where somebody said, “Hey, July 4 is coming up. What can we do to really amp up this year’s fireworks?” Then, after 15 minutes of mumblings about paying influencers to post about fireworks, an R&R intern said, “More, you know, fireworks?”
At which point everyone in the room burst into applause because everyone loves cashing paychecks!
If you thought our fireworks photo looked fake, you should see the one the LVCVA is using to promote this summer’s hoopla.
The biggest problem with free fireworks is the people it appeals to are looking for free attractions. Also known as pretty much the worst casino customers possible.
There’s a reason casinos have killed off popular free attractions like the “Show in the Sky” at Rio or the pirate battle at Treasure Island. It’s because crowds that don’t spend money aren’t paying any bills, including the cost of maintaining free attractions. The Mirage volcano would’ve been gone whether Mirage had closed or not, by the way.
That said, we would never want to “yuck” anyone’s “yum,” so let’s learn more about our town’s big fireworks plan!
Here’s where the fireworks will be launched from this summer.
What’s the biggest difference between the LVCVA’s fireworks and the ones Plaza has been doing for three years? Plaza pays for its fireworks. The fireworks this summer will be paid for by tax dollars. The LVCVA is funded by room taxes.
But that’s not what this is about!
Las Vegas needs more spectacle to draw people back. Will fireworks do that? No, but people will probably watch them if they’re going off while they’re here.
Bless their hearts, the LVCVA is trying.
Leave your thoughts on “Bereft of New Ideas, Las Vegas Offers Weekly Fireworks to Lure Visitors”