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Talk of the bay
Busch Gardens . . . Channelside . . . horseback on the beach?
By LOUIS HAU
Published June 13, 2005
When Tampa officials made their successful pitch last month in Washington to host the 2009 Super Bowl, they had just 15 minutes to get their message across.
To maximize the effect of their presentation, they turned to Tampa Digital Studios to produce a video highlighting Tampa's advantages as a host city.
The result was a fast-paced, MTV-style production that made an effective case for why the National Football League should bring the Super Bowl back to the bay area.
The three-minute video featured 22-year-old former Tampa Bay Tech linebacker Jonta Mention, training alone at Raymond James Stadium. Those images were alternated with shots of local attractions, such as Busch Gardens, Channelside, the Hillsborough River, the Sunshine Skyway and a cruise ship anchored at the Port of Tampa.
Throughout the video, text was periodically flashed on the screen to emphasize certain points, such as "Over 35 miles of sandy beaches" and "Endless days of sunshine."
Although it clearly focused on the bay area's best side, nothing in the video felt staged or artificial.
Nothing, that is, except perhaps for a scene featuring a woman atop a galloping horse at a (presumably) local beach.
That was part of the stock footage provided by local tourism officials, according to Tampa Digital spokesman Michael Piotrowski.
"We do have horses here," Piotrowski said with a laugh. "And there are beaches."
[Last modified June 10, 2005, 19:20:03]
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