What Happens in Vegas? Imagine Dragons. At least in New Ad Campaign Featuring Local Band

Your next jaunt to Las Vegas could involve dragons. Actually, “Imagine Dragons,” a local Indie band that’s been tapped to be the focus of a new Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority ad campaign developed by advertising firm R&R Partners.

“Imagine Dragons,” a band known for its Grammy Award-winning single “Radioactive,” has a new album coming out. Las Vegas, of course, is just doing what it does best: stoke the excitement about visiting the casino capital of the world.

“The creative crew for R&R tasked with keeping the ad campaign fresh, had their idea: two ads, one with a man, the other a woman, who both crisscross through Las Vegas scenes running into each other pool-side, or amid a fire-breathing variety act, at a 1920s-themed nightclub and a concert venue,” notes a story in Salon.

The commercials purportedly cost $1.2 million to produce and will cost the Las Vegas tourism agency an additional $7.6 million to buy national air time on NBC, ABC, FOX, E!, Bravo, Food Network, USA, Travel Channel, Comedy Central, among other channels. Word is that Chicago, Dallas, and Houston — among other potential demographic areas — could see the spots a bit more than most.

“We’re in debt to Vegas,” said Dan Reynolds, the band’s lead singer and a Las Vegas native, in interviews filmed by R&R. “We really owe everything to Vegas.”

R&R Partners’ Rob Dondero, who leads the team that works to market Las Vegas, said the spots’ messages are simple.

“Las Vegas is a place where anything can happen,” Dondero opined.

Interestingly, the new campaign featuring the band doesn’t show a single slot machine or casino floor.

Any bets on how well it will work?

That’s the thing about Las Vegas. Everything is a gamble. But if the tourism bureau and agency are right, what they’re selling is not gambling per se, but a destination with thrills and chills that go beyond the roulette table.

In the final analysis, any one of the players behind the planned promotion are qualified to quote the title of the Imagine Dragons song featured in the ads: “I Bet My Life.”