New TV ads to focus on pride in Spokane

The Spokane Regional Chamber of Commerce will use five promotional cable-TV ads to spread good news about Spokane to residents in Western Washington.

Unveiled during Tuesday’s annual chamber meeting in downtown Spokane, the 30-second videos are part of a campaign to promote pride in Spokane, said Chamber CEO and President Rich Hadley.

Producing and helping distribute the videos is Comcast Corp., the largest cable system in the United States and in Washington. The five promo spots will be shown to Comcast’s Spokane viewers and to those it has along the I-5 corridor, including Seattle.

Comcast is also offering the public-service promos to broadcast stations to run as they choose.

Comcast Spokesman Walter Neary estimated the promos could reach about one million west side Comcast subscribers from Centralia to Bellingham.

Spokane Comcast General Manager Kenneth Watts said the cable company looked for a way to present state residents a more accurate and complete picture of Spokane and its people.

“I understand the news media focuses on what’s extraordinary,” Watts said. “We just want to help spread the word that we’re very proud of where we live.”

In addition, he thinks it’s helpful to run the videos right here in the Spokane community. “We wanted to remind ourselves and our neighbors that there is a lot to celebrate and appreciate here,” Watts said.

Comcast is donating the $75,000 it would cost to produce the promos and buy the air time to show them, Watts said.

The five one-minute videos each feature a specific Spokane topic. They are quality of life, education, health care, Spokane business, and Fairchild Air Force Base.

“We’re also aware that news about Spokane goes outside of our immediate area, and so we are very glad to present Western Washington with views of the Spokane that we all know and love.”

Hadley praised the resulting videos as a strong showcase of what makes Spokane and the region a unique community. He also singled out chamber Marketing Director Nicole Hillman-Stewart for taking the idea and helping shaping the results.

“Nicole should get a lot of the credit,” said Hadley.