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# How the Slogan “Virginia is for Lovers” Changed the State’s Image
- URL: https://capitolcommunicator.com/how-virginia-is-for-lovers-changed-the-image-of-the-state/
- Published: 2016-12-04T20:18:26.000Z
- Updated: 2021-06-03T11:56:05.000Z
- Author: Capitol Communicator
- Tags: Advertising, Insights, #Import 2026-10-08 18:47

**“Virginia is not sexy like California**. It is not really contemporary either. It is where America’s first colonisers settled, so sometimes it is called the Mother of States; other times it’s just Old Dominion. It is not like the south, but not really like the north either. It is not a place for change or revolution,” reports the International Business Times.

The IBT story added:

“But driving around, a little bit of the state’s true rebellious heart greets you at every traffic light. On the license plate, with a little red heart, you’ll read ‘Virginia is for lovers’.

“Created in 1968, the slogan saw an uncertain start explode into a cultural phenomenon and fashion statement – its distinctive heart logo on T-shirts and sweaters the country over – but how it came to be is up for debate.

“One creation story, reproduced numerous times and even appearing on the Virginia Tourism Corporation’s website, is that the slogan was created by **Robin McLaughlin**, a $100-a-week copywriter at a small advertising company, Martin & Woltz, who first wrote down ‘Virginia is for history lovers’ before **Dave Martin**, one of the company’s founders, said they should drop the ‘history’.

“Despite the story’s popularity, according to people in the room, it’s not the truth. **IBTimes UK** went in search of the slogan’s true origins” and you can read the rest of the story [here](http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/looking-love-virginia-how-tiny-advertising-agency-changed-image-state-1586831?ref=capitolcommunicator.com).