NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The headline read: "White Trash, Hicks & Morons."
Was this story in the hometown newspaper of country music bashing the durable music genre? After all, country has been frequently lambasted by "refined" critics for the crime of having its roots in the poor and working classes.
No. It was an advertisement - promoting the new Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
For a change, the industry is having some fun with the stereotypical backward image that is still tied to country music. In the past, it has either pandered to it for profit (see "Hee Haw") or just seemed embarrassed.
"Sure, we wanted to be provocative," said Kyle Young, director of the Hall of Fame. "For this campaign, we wanted something that would dispel preconceived notions about country music, and let people know how big the music is.
"In a sense, it is the story of our country because it is so linked to our culture."
The "White Trash, Hicks & Morons" headline stems from the reaction of New York columnist Dorothy Kilgallen when she heard about a 1961 concert at Carnegie Hall featuring Patsy Cline, Bill Monroe, Marty Robbins, Faron Young and other Nashville stars.
Kilgallen, known as a panelist on the game show "What's My Line," called country music fans "hicks from the sticks," and advised New Yorkers to schedule their vacations to avoid being in town the day of the concert.
"But, despite the cold welcome, they went ahead and played at Carnegie Hall anyway," reads the ad. "Filled it to the rafters and rocked the house. Then donated the proceeds to local musicians down on their luck. Discover America in the making and a bit of yourself in the music at the new Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum."
The print ads and billboards are appearing in Nashville to draw tourists and residents to the museum.
"That's delightful," Vanderbilt University sociologist Richard Peterson said about the ads. Peterson who wrote "Fabricating Authenticity," a book about the complex ways "authenticity" is measured and manipulated in the country music industry.
"I think it is new for them to be self confident enough of who they are and what they're doing, and confident of the readers out there who are middle-class people," Peterson said.
The Hall of Fame campaign is far more provocative than the slogan the genre's trade organization, the Country Music Association, is getting ready to market: "Country. Admit it. You Love It."
"The CMA has always reacted to the snobbery by saying, 'Let's dress up in ball gowns and tuxedos and show them we're as good as they are,"' Peterson said.
Ed Benson, CMA executive director, said the two campaigns had the same goals.
"They were privy to our research," he said. "I think their campaign probably addresses the same kind of questions and issues as ours. It's supposed to encourage and reinforce the core consumer, and broaden the base."
The ad headlines are taken either from historical events or famous pop culture taglines: "To Hell With Roy Acuff," one reads. "Elvis Has Never Left The Building," a billboard on Interstate 40 proclaims.
"To Hell With Roy Acuff" was a Japanese battle cry during World War II, along with "To Hell with Roosevelt" and "To Hell With Babe Ruth."
Acuff, who died in 1992, was, and is, regarded as one of the kings of country music, having been the Grand Master of the Grand Ole Opry and influenced artists like Hank Williams and George Jones.
"Elvis Has Never Left The Building" and "Cash Accepted Here" stand alone as slogans on billboards, alluding to the enduring popularity of Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash with country fans, while their stock rises and falls in mainstream culture.
"This approach is more like Volkswagen did with the Bug," Peterson said. "Just the tell them, 'We have a Bug,' and be proud."
