"You've got to sell the whole state and do it in a way that people are intrigued by it and people will inquire for more information," Chase said. "Montana has done a very good job of that. They've capitalized on 'Big Sky Country.' They've been very consistent through all the (tourism) materials and branded themselves pretty effectively."

Companies like Nike, IBM and McDonald's have successful brands because of plentiful capital, something many states lack for tourism marketing, he said. "With tourism promotion, for states like Idaho that are among the lower-funded, it becomes particularly hard to try to break through on what any preconceived notions are," Chase said. "It all comes down to budget and resources. You'll never have enough unless a state has something immediately identifiable. Vegas, for example, drives Nevada's tourism program."

He warns against "trying to be all things to all people" when developing a brand. "That's the biggest pitfall," he said. "People will say, 'We can't say this because of that group' or 'We can't say that because of this group,' but then it becomes marketing by committee."

But, you're asking yourself, great potatoes?

"When we first did that one, it wasn't completely polarizing," Chase said. "In fact, travelers from outside Idaho thought it was all right. Anyone developing a brand and tourism destination should be ready for both sides of the coin. You can't be everything to all people. Know who your target audience is and hope it resonates with them. But whatever it is, it won't connect with everyone, and you've got to be prepared for that."

Pretty, great brand?

Eighteen years later, Stroman still sounds perplexed that "A Pretty, Great State" did not resonate. Instead, it became the butt of many jokes. He recalls Jay Leno lampooning it on "The Tonight Show."

He still insists it was a strong way to play up Utah's pretty environment and great people.

"I didn't realize how many ignorant people out there don't know what a comma (is)," Stroman said. "People read right by the comma. By putting in the comma, it wouldn't sound so much like bragging."

Whatever Utah selects, he said, it will be the target of punsters.

"You can't please all the people all the time," he said. "I think there are a lot of people out there just sitting by the TV with a pen and pad, waiting for something to come along to complain about and write somebody about."

Misconstrued or not, he said, "A Pretty, Great State" is still well-known.

"Fifteen years later, I still see 'pretty, great' this or 'pretty, great' that in editorials and advertising. It's had some legs. It's been gone quite a while, but people still remember it."