IHT: Portugal seeks new image as 'West Coast of Europe' - by Eric Pfanner
Portugal seeks new image as 'West Coast of Europe' - by Eric Pfanner
For Portugal, the signing Thursday of a treaty to overhaul the governance of the European Union in Lisbon was a "tipping point," said Manuel Pinho, the Portuguese minister for the economy and innovation."We are the focus of Europe, and even the whole world," he said. For Portugal, Pinho and Wengorovius acknowledged, one problem is that many people, even in Europe, have only vaguely formed ideas about the country. The tagline, highlighting Portugal's westward orientation, was intended to remind them that the country's coastline is along the Atlantic, not the Mediterranean, unlike other countries in Southern Europe with which it is sometimes lumped in the Northern European consciousness.
The government is spending about €3 million, or $4.32 million on the ad campaign, Wengorovius said. "We know that you cannot change the perception of a country just like that," he said. "But this is about trying to put perception closer to reality."
