Experience Regina—that’s a phrase that’s been used to poke fun at the Saskatchewan capital for years.
Regina’s name, which sounds similar to a word meaning genitals, helped a song about the town go viral. Now the town, which rhymes with fun, is trying to own the joke and is making the song’s name the new name of Regina’s tourism organization.
“It’s an opportunity. When you travel the world and people start talking about it, there’s a moment where you’re like, ‘What’s the name of the city again?’” said Tim Reid, CEO of Experience Regina.
“It just is what it is, so don’t be afraid of it. It’s the name of the city and we should be proud of it.”
The rebranding for the organization previously known as Tourism Regina was unveiled on Thursday.
Reid and Mayor Sandra Masters were joined by Randy Boissonnault, the federal minister for tourism, as they premiered a music video featuring a song that popularized the phrase “Experience Regina.”
The original video was uploaded to YouTube in 2008 and has been viewed almost 700,000 times in the 14 years since.
Melody and Tim, the pseudonyms of two Americans, created the song after one of them took a road trip across Canada in 2008, according to the Regina Leader post.
Packed with synthesizers, a hypnotic off-key lyricist and video from various locations in Regina, the video went viral.
It experienced a new wave of popularity in 2018 after Jimmy Fallon continued playing the song the tonight show resulting in laughter from Fallon’s co-host, members of his band, and his audience.
While its use drew attention to the song and Fallon even snagged an invitation to visit the city from then-Mayor Michael Fougere, the city didn’t take advantage of the opportunity at the time.
One of the companies that did this was Rebellion Brewing.
Microbrewery Regina has been making merchandise with the slogan since it started on Fallon.
“When something like that just happens, you have to jump on it and run with it. So that’s what we did,” said Mark Heise, owner of Rebellion Brewing.
The decision has paid off.
The company’s slogan t-shirts ship all over the world, and while Mark has stopped tracking how many they’ve sold, he knows it’s one of their most popular products.
“It’s famous everywhere I travel. People want our stuff. They want the shirt off my back. There’s something to it,” he said.
While the song is catchy, the rebranding for Regina’s tourism organization has drawn a ton of criticism on social media.
Some people have pointed out that the joke is a bit colorless, while others call it low-key humor.
Reid said it was inevitable.
“I think that affiliation will always be an undertone that we face,” he said, urging the public to be proud of the city’s name no matter what.
“For those who want to have a moment of humor with it, that’s not a bad thing. hug it. We will not be changing the name of the city of Regina anytime soon.”
He said the new slogan will be available to anyone who wants to use it and if they want Experience Regina’s help, she will be more than happy to help.
Heise understands that some people don’t like how the slogan can be interpreted as a joke about Regina residents, but he said it doesn’t make fun of individuals.
It’s something everyone laughs about.
“It’s incredible branding and marketing,” Heise said. “You couldn’t create this yourself.”
