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CityCenter’s $20 million ad campaign kicks off

Let the hype begin.

The one-month, $20 million marketing campaign for CityCenter commenced last week as a television advertisement for Aria started airing on national cable networks and in selected audience target markets, such as Los Angeles and Chicago.

The 60-second artistic ad is called “No Words.” It uses just music and images to give viewers a taste of Aria, the centerpiece hotel-casino inside the $8.5 billion CityCenter. Aria opens Dec. 16.

The $20 million figure also includes costs for CityCenter’s opening celebrations this month.

MGM Mirage executives previewed the television ad for Nevada gaming regulators earlier this month when Aria was licensed to operate its 150,000-squre-foot casino.

CityCenter’s first hotel, the non-gaming 1,500-room Vdara, opens Tuesday.

Half-page spadea newspaper ads began appearing on the cover of the Los Angeles Times this week for Viva Elvis, the Cirque du Soleil show at Aria that is based on the music of Elvis Presley.

MGM Mirage officials said they plan to spend $27 million in 2010 on the marketing for CityCenter. The figure doesn’t include any additional advertising by the Mandarin Oriental Hotel or the tenants inside the 500,000-square-foot Crystals retail district.

view Aria commercial

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