Myrtle Beach won't drop web ad despite sandstorm from Virginia Beach

Myrtle Beach won't drop a Web ad trying to steer tourists to the South Carolina resort instead of Virginia Beach, at least for now.

By: Associated Press | WSLS 10
Published: May 16, 2008

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VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) - Myrtle Beach won't drop a Web ad trying to steer tourists to the South Carolina resort instead of Virginia Beach, at least for now.
The Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce said in a statement Friday that it has run the ad on Internet search engines since fall 2006. For example, when someone searches Google for "Virginia Beach vacations," a sponsored link called "Escape to Myrtle Beach" also is displayed.
Virginia Beach tourism officials recently discovered the ad and sent a protest letter to the chamber.
Chamber head Brad Dean said he was surprised they took offense at what he called a playful Internet tactic.
Dean said the chamber will not change the ad now but will review the tactic in the future.