Lubbock Airport’s Huge New Ad Is Getting Some Brutal Reviews

There is a big — and I mean huge — new mural/ad at the Lubbock airport, and some people have a problem with it.

First off, this is a little hard to talk about because no one can seem to figure out whether it's an ad or a sponsored mural, but since it was pointed out to me that murals are technically painted, let's just call it a sign. I noticed it while flying out recently, and my first reaction was that it looked a little trashy. Apparently, I’m not alone, although some of the complaints go much deeper than that.

One of the first criticisms to gain traction was people calling it “AI slop.”

Now, I cannot confirm that artificial intelligence was used to create it, so I’m not going to claim that it was. But I will say this: I have a hard time believing a professional graphic artist who really understood Lubbock would have put all of these elements together quite this way.

It suffers from something I like to call “outsider observations.”

That’s when someone looks at Lubbock from a distance and thinks, “Okay, West Texas. Give me Buddy Holly, Waylon Jennings, prairie dogs and Texas Tech.” I also need to ask, if Buddy and Waylon are so famous, then why is it necessary to put their names on thier chests?

To be fair, those things are all part of our identity. It’s not exactly wrong. It just feels a little hacky, like somebody Googled “Things Lubbock Is Known For” and stopped after the first few results.

Let's go ahead and post it again so you can see exactly what people are talking about.

E. Cardenas

Some Of The Details Make It Even Weirder

Then there are the slogans.

“West Texas — Rooted In Dirt, Built On Grit.”

And:

“Original Cool — Before Cool Was A Thing.”

Those are the kinds of phrases that seem like they’re saying something profound until you actually think about them. Then you realize they really aren’t saying much of anything.

And I’m sorry, but Lubbock has never really been “cool.”

Some of us like it that way.

Then we have to talk about Raider Red.

That thing is the stuff of nightmares.

It has this strange, almost-real human body paired with a cartoon head that has somehow been made just human enough to become unsettling. I’m not even sure what’s happening with the skin color, but I’m pretty sure I’ve seen the same shade wandering around on The Walking Dead.

Kids arriving in Lubbock may need a minute.

Here’s the part that really gets me. Years ago — and I mean years ago — we had a graphics company design some artwork for the doors inside our radio station. Every single one of those graphics does a better job, in my opinion, of representing Lubbock and West Texas.

Those are just doors inside a radio station.

The other is one of the first giant visual statements visitors see when they arrive in our city.

I think we can do better.

Read More: Places We Miss-The Lubbock Coliseum

Lubbock has enough personality, history, weirdness, music, art and actual character that we shouldn't have to reduce ourselves to a handful of clichés pasted together and slapped on a wall.