TMNT are official NYC ambassadors for 2016

[triplexxx]

NEW YORK (AP) — Cowabunga, dudes! The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are New York City's official family ambassadors for 2016.

The city's tourism agency, NYC & Company, has announced that the sewer-dwelling reptiles will star in ads to encourage families to explore New York.

Agency CEO Fred Dixon says the turtles are "the perfect guides to help families discover the vibrancy and excitement throughout the five boroughs."

The crime-fighting ninja turtles — Donatello, Michelangelo, Leonardo and Raphael — started out in comic books in the 1980s before branching out to TV and film. The latest movie came out in 2014 and a sequel is set for release in June.

They succeed Dora the Explorer, who served as last year's ambassador.

[The Deadman]

Do they get a key to every pizza place in the city?

[Shark_Blade]

More promo for the 2016 movie!

[TonySiegel]

and not a single alley or sewer was explored...

[IndigoErth]

Guess who is being kept on to be the Ambassadors again this year!

http://blog.timesunion.com/travelgal...ssadors/15643/

The first-ever Ambassador to embark on a two-year partnership, the new campaign features new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles artwork, exciting family-friendly itineraries across all five boroughs, interactive SMS messaging with exclusive content, and more.



“We’re excited to have the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles welcome family travelers to NYC for a second year, this time with richer NYC travel content and interactive features for visitors,” said Fred Dixon, president and CEO of NYC & Company. “Just as each family visiting NYC has their own unique interests, each Turtle has their own favorite activities across the five boroughs, and we’re pleased to bring those itineraries to life for our visiting families.”

“We are thrilled to continue our partnership with NYC & Company, with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles assuming the mantle of New York City Family Ambassadors for a milestone second consecutive year,” said Pam Kaufman, Global Chief Marketing Officer and President of Consumer Products, Nickelodeon Group. “New York is a family vacation hotspot, jam-packed with exciting things to do on every corner so it’s a no-brainer to have the beloved Turtles who know the ins and outs of the city, serving as ambassadors and representing the fun and adventure that can be found on these iconic city streets.”

With personalities ranging from adventurer to foodie, each of the four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has their own favorite destinations to discover across NYC, and now family visitors can to. Itineraries and maps catered to each turtle are featured on nycgo.com/family, providing families with tools and inspiration to plan their own NYC adventures. Five new creative posters feature itinerary-style illustrations of each Turtle’s tours across the five boroughs, from Leo’s adventurous side enjoying Staten Island’s Chinese Scholar Garden, to Donnie learning at the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History.

https://www.nycgo.com/maps-guides/family-friendly


Also, there's some cute Nick Turtles art on its site.

Spoiler:

[Powder]

Sweet! I believe the artist is Patrick Spaziante.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

That art is pretty great. I also like that they're been kept on even though the IP's public light is waning at the moment (no movie to promote, cartoon winding down and a new one starting next year)...

[Powder]

The turtles will always be NY staples. They get a lotta love in their "home state"!

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Originally Posted by Powder

The turtles will always be NY staples. They get a lotta love in their "home state"!

Absolutely. Kinda surprises me it took until 2016. Or was this a thing back in Turtlemania, too?

[ranger_scout]

This is a nice little surprise. I was expecting it to be the characters from The Secret Life of Pets since their movie was such a huge blockbuster and it was set in New York.

[IndigoErth]

Originally Posted by CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy

Absolutely. Kinda surprises me it took until 2016. Or was this a thing back in Turtlemania, too?

Article (in a part I didn't copy/paste) mentions the family ambassador program started in 2009, and mentions a few previous characters, but couldn't find a list of all of them. Likewise I'm surprised it took as long as it did, and that far into Nick's series.

But at least some smart person finally figured out their #1 guys for the job.


If anyone finds that 5th piece of art of all of them, sans the rest of the site header stuck as part of the same file, share please. Article has it and clickable, but its tiny.

edit: Never mind... remembered Google's reverse image search. (At least the article version.)

Spoiler:

[sdp]

What other fictional characters have been NYC ambassadors?

Many fictional heroes and icons have lived in NYC. I hope Godzilla 98 makes it.

[IndigoErth]

http://blog.timesunion.com/travelgal...ssadors/15643/

The Teenage Mutant Nina Turtles are the eighth Family Ambassador after Dora and Friends in 2015, Curious George in 2014, Where’s Waldo? in 2013, The Muppets in 2012, The Smurfs in 2011, Dora the Explorer in 2010 and Sesame Street in 2009.

Never mind, I guess that was all of them, I feel like there should have been more already.

Er, yeah... not sure Godzilla is gonna fit what they're looking for. Reptar might be the closest if Rugrats ever came back.

I guess we're just ignoring that Dora has done it twice and not counting it since it was separate series. lol

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy

Absolutely. Kinda surprises me it took until 2016. Or was this a thing back in Turtlemania, too?

NYC seems to be the home of many fictional characters, from cartoon/comic to live action ones, so it can't be the Turtles every year

[BubblyShell22]

This is pretty awesome and I'm glad the Turtles have gotten recognition two years in a row.

[Machias Banshee]

Very nice! I love the artwork...