Lake Tahoe and the Effective Use of Humor

Lake Tahoe is a beautiful place to visit and residents of the city have long known that the area in which they live is among the best in the nation. Residents have also come to realize that many visitors do not understand the consequences of their actions when they come to Lake Tahoe, which is why the city has launched a campaign that uses gentle humor to get its point across.

The campaign posters have garnered attention among visitors who have shared pictures on social media and have described them as part of Occidental Vacation Club reviews, demonstrating that the campaign is indeed gaining traction and the message is being spread to the public at large.

The hilarious campaign features posters that include bears awaiting a dinner reservation that just so happens to coincide with trash pickup day, fires that need a “big wet one,” and cigarette butts lounging on the beach just beneath a heading that reads “Nobody wants to see your dirty butt.” Each of these posters is designed not just to evoke a laugh or a smile, but to also get visitors and residents to realize that trash needs to be secured, fires need to be put out and littering should be discouraged.

The strategy is known to be an effective one, as people are simply more likely to get the message when it is delivered through humor. Conversely, posted signs that that simply offer a directive of “NO LITTERING” often go unnoticed and, therefore, unheeded. Surely residents and visitors wish that most people did not need such a reminder, but the city of Lake Tahoe has had enough incidents that it is clear that this sort of campaign is a necessary one.