Branson cannot serve two “cools” will it be Branson Cool or Hip Cool?

The December issue of the wannabe hip magazine “Details” contained an article entitled, “Will Branson Missouri, Ever be Cool” by Bart Blasengame. Ironically, while striving to tell Branson how hip and cool it ought to be, the piece totally misses the point on how cool Branson actually is.

Just how cool is prostitution, whether legal or not? How cool are shows that need, three nubile assistants who spend “the majority of the act with cleavage splayed out like an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet” to entertain audiences? What kind of cool is it that disrespects the very visitors that provide Branson’s livelihood? What type of cool refers to those who have sacrificed for our country in the service of its armed forces as “crotchety war veterans?”

An Ole Seagull would suggest that in order, the answers to the above questions are, “Not very” and “Hip Cool.” That’s the type of cool that results from adding “hip” to the dictionary definition of cool, “marked by deliberate effrontery or lack of due respect or discretion” It’s the exact opposite of Branson Cool.

How cool and unique is a travel destination where what is moral and ethical matters as much or more than what is legal? How cool is it to be entertained by entertainers using their innate talent and abilities to provide a memorable family entertainment experience rather than a display of cleavage or “nice looking gals in skimpy outfits?” What type of cool is it that respects the visitors that provide Branson’s livelihood? Honors America’s veterans and Her God?

An Ole Seagull would suggest that in order, the answers to the above questions are, “Very” and “Branson Cool.” That’s the type of cool that results when the warmth, family friendliness, and hospitality that Branson is famous for is combined with another dictionary definition of cool, “excellent or first rate.” It’s the exact opposite of Hip Cool.

It’s the cool that has made Branson what it is today. It’s the cool that was good enough to generate the traffic and revenues that attracted the very developers, entertainers, entrepreneurs, professional bureaucrats, etc. to Branson who now tell us that a more Hip Cool is needed to get the younger crowds they say is needed for the success of Branson’s future. To that an Ole Seagull would simply say, “Bull roar.”

What Branson needs is the effective marketing of Branson’s product and the continuing commitment to those values that make the Branson experience unique. From Cirque to the Duttons, with just about every kind of show one could imagine in between, a variety of quality national acts appearing at venues like the Welk Theatre, Grand Palace, and Tri-Lakes Center, from Shepherd of the Hills to Silver Dollar City, lakes, natural beauty, and shopping galore, the Branson area has it all.

The City of Branson recently spent over $100,000 on a branding study which established that the vast majority of people who come and experience Branson like the product and will return. There isn’t one mention about changing the product Branson offers and the reason is as simple as it is obvious, Branson doesn’t have a product problem it has a marketing opportunity! How cool is that?

And it gets even cooler. The number one identifier that the branding study showed that visitors associated with Branson was values, the same values that have been an inherent part of Branson’s entertainment industry since its very beginning respect, God, Country, and family. Those same values that not only make the Branson area a unique entertainment venue but that special place that a lot of us call “home.”

In the final analysis, although a warning, the article is but one man’s opinion of his perceptions. As Joe Sullivan, local show producer, so succinctly expressed in a recent email, “This article may have put Branson on the radar screen of some two million people who otherwise might not have known that Branson exists. Perhaps they will be intrigued by the mystery of a life they’ve not experienced, come to check it out and, as so many others have, fall in love with our little city and become regular visitors.” Now that’s cool, really cool, Branson Cool.

Seagull Note: While this column addresses the specifics and verbiage used in the article it must be a matter of perception because the Ole Seagull saw the same show that the writer of this article did and wrote a review on it in June of 2005. In that review he said, “The Ole Seagull has six young grandchildren and saw nothing in the show in terms of costumes or content that would cause him concern” and “The shows choreography, costuming, dancing, singing, magic and their seamless integration as the show magically flows from one number to the next is a wonderful entertainment experience ….”