Philly Celebs Don Pajamas to Attract Tourists

NEW YORK — Clothing designer Nicole Miller, conductor Peter Nero and Philadelphia Mayor John Street are among the high-profile personalities with close ties to the city who donned pajamas for a multi-media ad campaign designed to revive Philadelphia’s sagging post-Sept. 11 tourism industry.

The $2 million effort, coordinated by the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp., launches Friday with the tag “Philly’s more fun when you sleep over.” TV and print ads show people in their night wear visiting such Philadelphia tourist spots as Independence Mall and the Museum of Art. The campaign will be targeted along the East Coast in such drive-time cities as Baltimore and Harrisburg, as well as Philadelphia.

The new campaign intends to fill hotel rooms that were only half-filled in October as well as boost convention business and attendance over the next six to eight months, according to A. Bruce Crawley, chairman of the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau.

“The campaign shows how serious we are…about protecting our share of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast travel market,” said Crawley. Other celebs who may be tapped to appear in their pj’s include Philadelphia the 76ers’ Allen Iverson, Phillies manager Larry Bowa, Philadelphia-born actresses Linda Fiorentino and Kim Delaney and Sylvester “Rocky” Stallone.