Las Vegas Icons Join Frank Sinatra In Serenade To Tourists Siegfried & Roy, Wayne Newton, Rita Rudner, Wolfgang Puck and Others Sing With Sinatra In New TV Ad Campaign

LAS VEGAS - Today's brightest stars on the Las Vegas Strip have paired up with one of entertainment's biggest legends in a serenade for the city. Rita Rudner, Siegfried & Roy, Wayne Newton, Wolfgang Puck, Blue Man Group, David Brenner and a host of other performers from Las Vegas' resorts have joined together to sing along with the voice of the late Frank Sinatra in new television ads.

The two new 30-second spots also feature the ladies of Le Femme, the casts of Jubilee, "Mystere" and "O," the knights of Excalibur, the pirates from Treasure Island and seven Elvis impersonators. While viewers hear the voice of Frank Sinatra singing "It's Time for You," they hear and see the performers singing the song along with him.
The entertainers were filmed at recognizable locations and in front of landmarks throughout the city, such as the "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign and the Fremont Street Experience.

The ads are part of a new advertising campaign launched Sept. 30 by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) using the never-before-released Frank Sinatra song "It's Time for You." The campaign, designed to bolster tourism numbers following the events of Sept. 11, echoes the urgings of the nation's leaders to get back to the business of living, and reflects research findings that show the public's need to take a break from the real world.

"The Sinatra song has generated enormous interest -- and people are responding to the positive message it conveys," said Billy Vassiliadis, CEO of R&R Partners, the LVCVA's advertising agency. "This next phase of the campaign kicks up the fun factor a notch, and says to people, 'It's OK to laugh again.'" The general messages in the campaign provide visitors with permission to get away while promoting Las Vegas' amenities and emphasizing entertainment value.

The ads will air from Nov. 1-18 in Southern California, Phoenix, Dallas, Chicago, Houston and the San Francisco Bay area. These markets represent 30,650 daily airline seats or 52.6 percent of Las Vegas' overall flights and are the leading drive markets for Las Vegas. The ads can also be viewed starting Nov. 1 on the LVCVA's Web site at vegasfreedom.com.

Following the new campaign's launch, many Las Vegas entertainers expressed a desire to participate, Vassiliadis said. The Sinatra song provided both a vehicle to deliver the advertising messages and an entertaining way to involve the celebrities. The result is a visually arresting piece with some candid and often humorous moments.

"It's my job to make people laugh, and if there's anything we need right now it's laughter," said Brenner during the filming of the ad. "Laughter is an escape and where is there a better place to escape to than Las Vegas?"

Filming each segment took several hours, often a whole day, and all of the performers were very gracious in giving their time. For example, Puck's restaurant Spago was inhabited by the production crew for most of the day, and Siegfried & Roy toted a tiger cub named Titan to the roof of the Mirage.

"The entertainers were already onboard with the campaign, and being 'onstage' with Mr. Sinatra added a little extra excitement that really comes across in the ads," said Rossi Ralenkotter, vice president of marketing for the LVCVA. Tina Sinatra, on behalf of the Frank Sinatra Foundation, licensed the rights to the song for exclusive use in the LVCVA's eight-week ad campaign.

For Newton, who performed with Sinatra many times throughout their careers, the ad allowed him to come close to doing something the two had discussed many times over the years: record an album together. "He and I joked about it many times," Newton said. "Well, it never came to pass and this is my way of being able to do that."

The LVCVA is pleased to offer customers a new toll-free, operator-assisted phone number for Las Vegas travel information. Call 1-877-VISIT-LV for hotel reservations as well as for the most up-to-date information about everything Las Vegas has to offer, including special promotions and show and event information. Operators are standing by Sunday through Thursday from 5 a.m. until 10 p.m. (PST) and Friday and Saturday from 5 a.m. until midnight (PST). Customers can also access current Las Vegas information and make room reservations featuring the greatest deals in Las Vegas by visiting the LVCVA's Web site at vegasfreedom.com.






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