dvertising Lilliland?

aron Von Lodge was the head of a small country known as Lilliland near Switzerland. The time was the early 1900s.

Lilliland was a very nice place to live and a nice place to visit. It had natural scenic beauty, the shimmering Castle Lake to the snow-capped Alpine Mountains. Everyone in Lilliland was friendly and courteous to the tourists.

Some Lilliland businessmen wanted to generate more business so they voted to hire a public relations firm to promote their businesses. Initially, the Baron had no objections to the idea of promoting the businesses that the public relations firm represented.

When the public relations firm came up with their proposal, it exceeded the Baron’s wishes. They wanted to advertise for the whole of Lilliland, to have casino gambling, betting on horse races, raising the prizes at Bingo, and have a national lottery.

The Baron received a full report from the businessmen who sponsored the public relations firm and asked the Baron for approval of the new and expanded plan for the whole country of Lilliland. The businessmen now wanted the Baron to use money from the Lilliland treasury to support the proposal. The Baron, being a diplomat, thanked the businessmen for their report and said that he would have an answer in several days.

In the meantime, the Baron and his chief advisor Professor Hamblin went into seclusion to study the plan. There had been so many interruptions that the Baron moved the meeting to Lady Angela’s Alpine Castle.

The day of the decision was at hand and the businessmen were called to the Baron’s office in Lilliland Castle.

The Baron’s decision was to reject all of the proposals. Lilliland would remain a place for family sports and recreation. There would be no lottery, no large stakes at Bingo, just $10 prizes, no racetrack betting and a strong no to casino gambling.

The businessmen went away from the meeting discouraged but later they individually let the Baron know they were pleased that the future of Lilliland would always be as they remembered as children growing up. Lilliland will always be a nice quiet and peaceful place to live and visit.