Niagara Now: The weight of (Jimmy Fallon's) words

by Michelle Blackley

Sticks-and-stones - words may do no physical harm, but they do hurt sometimes. An entire region experienced this during the Jan. 6 episode of "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," when the playful host compared our destination and hometown of Niagara USA to a " 'Lemony Snicket' book cover."

I know that many comedians think there are no boundaries when it comes to humor - and they may be correct, but being funny is only part of the issue. Some in the Niagara USA community were outraged and others agreed with him.

At Niagara Tourism & Convention Corp., we decided to take a different approach.

People's words normally reflect their attitudes and sentiments, but what happens when they don't truly understand the butt of their humor? We can all take a joke, sure, but in this case we wanted to take it a bit farther. We are aggressively encouraging Fallon to visit Niagara USA.

The social media campaign #FallinforFallon is designed to show Fallon just how great he would look with our attractions as his backdrop. Find Niagara Falls USA on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and re-tweet, post and comment on the images and text that accompany #FallinforFallon. Do your own posting and use the hashtag #FallinforFallon and help get our entire destination on board.

Niagara USA is home to a gorgeous World Wonder, and is a place rich in history, culture, outdoor life, shopping, adventure and agriculture. There are hundreds of attractions and things to do in Niagara USA year-round.

Help me and the NTCC make sure Fallon and all of his fans know this, too! We would like to host Fallon and, during his time here, show him an experience he will truly remember.

Michelle Blackley is the communications and community relations manager at Niagara Tourism & Convention Corp. (NTCC). She the host of "Niagara Now" on WLVL and LCTV, and manages the Niagara-USA.com/blog. Follow her@shellblackley.