OCEAN
CITY – The town of
Ocean City has been awarded “Best Continuing Campaign” in the State of

Maryland for its “Rodney the Lifeguard” campaign created by the town’s advertising agency, MGH Inc.

The award was presented on Thursday evening at the Maryland Tourism and Travel Summit in

Annapolis.

Nominated by Maryland State Delegate Jim Mathias, the “Rodney” campaign was recognized by state tourism officials for its success in increasing tourism in

Ocean
City at a time when other destinations were struggling amidst a weak economy.

In the second year of the campaign,

Ocean
City realized a 6 percent increase in June room tax, an almost 10 percent increase in July and 5 percent increase in August. The 2010 Rodney campaign featured two new television commercials with Rodney the Lifeguard rescuing people and bringing them to

Ocean
City.

“We are thrilled to have our Rodney campaign recognized by Maryland Tourism officials,” said Mayor Rick Meehan. “It is quite an honor to be recognized and we are most appreciative of Delegate Mathias’ support in submitting the nomination for the award.”

Ocean City Tourism Director Deb Turk and Communications Manager Donna Abbott accepted the award on behalf of the town at the Maryland Tourism and Travel Summit awards banquet held Thursday evening at the Loew’s Annapolis Hotel. The summit and banquet were attended by over 200 tourism officials and business representatives from across the state.