Kentucky is the home to a great shade of awesomeness that can be found in everything from literature, sports, buckets of chicken - right down to Derby style mojitos and brown liquor. And while there are so many things about Kentucky that are kick ass –a couple of loyal Kentuckians say that attitude does not apply when it comes to the state’s slogan “Unbridled Spirit.”

“It’s a ‘lame-ass tagline,’” says advertising executive Griffin VanMeter, who along with his friend Whit Hiler are proposing a new state slogan: “Kentucky kicks ass.”

Recently the two die-hard Kentuckians launched a Facebook page called Kentucky for Kentucky in an a brash attempt to raise $3.5 million so that they could purchase a Super Bowl ad to tell the world just how, well, kick ass Kentucky actually is. Unfortunately, the two were unable to reach their fundraising goal, but they did manage to attract an outpouring of support – 11,000 Facebook fans.

“Everybody was saying ‘kick ass,’” says Hiler. “That was our thing on our Facebook page, and so that seemed logical when we came up with the idea of rebranding the state.”

Unfortunately, the Kentucky tourism department has been less than supportive of the proposed slogan change. “These guys are Kentucky natives and they love the state. But they have a different constituency. Which is no one,” said a spokesperson for the tourism department.

Yet, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear thinks the tourism department should give these guys a little more credit. “I think that they probably have a pretty good constituency,” he says. “I think it’s fun. I think these guys are very innovative and they’re attracting a lot of attention, good attention, for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. So I urge them on in all of their innovative thinking.”

Wow! An endorsement by the governor - Kentucky really is kick ass!

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