It is true that there are many things of which Ames residents should be proud. Old or young, Ames is a beautiful place to live. There are many attractions and statistics that prove that Ames is a great place. What Ames does not need to use to prove its greatness is a tacky music video.

“Hooray for Ames,” directed by Josh LaVille with music by Smiling Stone Soup, is embarrassing. If the goal of the video is to get people interested in living in Ames, why would we make a video about Ames that looked like it was geared toward kindergarteners when, if anyone is going to be making a move to Ames, it would be the parents’ decision.

The video points out great places and statistics that Ames has; however, it was clearly cheaply made. If the video was made in Ames, I do not understand why the video needed green screen pictures of the locations in Ames. Could they simply not go to the location and film there? When first watching the video, I thought it was supposed to be a funny skit or a spoof. After hearing that we used that video to entice people to live in Ames, I think of the crowd we are trying to connect with.

A Rant Sports blogger suggested that “Hooray for Ames” is such a terrible video that it may in fact have the opposite effect on people, making them not want to come to Ames. After watching the video, it is easy to agree with Rant Sports.

Water Rocks! produced the video, and it’s not its first. Water Rocks! makes a lot of videos that are aimed at school-aged children about the importance of water. In the beginning of the video, it was a possibility that “Hooray for Ames” was just a spoof of Ames. Unfortunately, the video is a serious promotional video.

The video is a perfect example of how a video should not be made to get people to come to Ames. Using students, families and real locations all could have helped persuade prospective families and students to consider moving to Ames. Instead, we have what appears to be four middle-aged people riding around in a fake car singing about Ames.

Why the Office of the Provost chose to go with this specific video is beyond my understanding. It will be interesting to see what kind of results will come from the video that has quickly gone viral on YouTube. If it actually made people want to come to Ames, it would be surprising. It seems the only thing it is really doing on YouTube is getting laughs from the locals and anyone else who comes across it.

It would be nice to see a new video be made, not that it would necessarily draw any attention away from the video about Ames that has already been made, but it may be a good chance for Ames to redeem itself on the recruiting side. A video being used for recruitment could use a little more time and effort than what looks like has been given in the “Hooray for Ames” video.

Ames has a lot to offer and is a wonderful place — now we just need a wonderful way to show that to potential Ames residents.