Why Oklahoma City as 'The Big Friendly' lacks a friendly embrace

While grabbing a quick breakfast Monday, I had a chance to overhear a familiar comment made by a customer while ordering. She previously lived in Virginia, but moved to Oklahoma City because “it’s friendly.”

And on the same morning, Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell, who is working to rebrand the state and promote tourism, observed the warm greeting given over the weekend to former Thunder player Paul George and commented on social media “I still think Ray Ackerman was right when he tried to brand OKC 'The Big Friendly.'”

The tag has never been embraced by the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, the Convention and Visitors Bureau or the folks at City Hall. But maybe because it never found any organized support, or maybe because of the lack of any other nickname, the tag has found an audience with national media and among some locals.

The attempted nickname has plenty of detractors, however, and quite a few locals wonder about the backstory.

Ackerman, who died in 2012, was a legendary local ad man and civic leader whose career included creating the iconic B.C. Clark’s Christmas jingle and the “Thank Heaven for 7-Eleven” campaign.

Ackerman was quick to note the idea first belonged to friend and fellow civic leader Lee Allan Smith.

Ackerman pushed hard for “The Big Friendly” during the state’s Centennial celebrations in 2007 and shared his pitch in 2007 with The Oklahoman:

“Oklahoma City needs a brand — a slogan, if you will — to serve our promotional needs like ‘The Big Apple’ (New York City), ‘The Big Easy’ (New Orleans), ‘Music City’ (Nashville) and ‘Virginia is for Lovers’ serve those cities and state,” Ackerman explained.

“‘The Big Friendly’ would serve Oklahoma City perfectly! Hardly a week goes by that The Oklahoman doesn't print something from a recent visitor talking about a super-friendly experience they had while visiting here. Friendly people are important to those selecting a location for a new plant, a city for a convention or a destination for a vacation.”

Oklahoma City is indeed known among some for the friendliness of its people. But branding experts, time and time again, have told me the idea is not the best fit for Oklahoma City, that it doesn’t really adequately represent our community.

They won’t say it, so I will. The criticism of “The Big Friendly” falls into two categories. Some believe it’s like saying “the girl isn’t that pretty, but she’s very friendly.” The other side will note that maybe we’re not so friendly when it comes to some of the politics of our state, the racist and bigoted comments and actions expressed by some lawmakers and the willingness to look the other way when it comes to poverty, mental health and education.

The chamber did take a serious look at the nickname when it was first proposed a dozen years ago. Back then, I was told the idea was tested with focus groups and did not fare well. They concluded people don’t decide to visit a city because “people are friendly;” that is simply expected. Similar conclusions were reached when it came to choosing a place to live or work.

The nickname drew some backlash then, as now, among those who say too many legislators have made national headlines with their intolerance of minorities for the city to truly claim to be “The Big Friendly.”

Maybe “The Big Friendly” is something we can keep aspiring to. In the meantime, Oklahoma City remains without an accepted nickname. And as it continues a rather amazing, ongoing transformation, maybe that’s for the best.