Rhode Iceland? Tourism video for RI uses footage from 2,500 miles away

RHODE ISLAND — A new marketing campaign for Rhode Island is drawing heat after using footage from Iceland.

The new promotional video, aimed at bringing tourists to Rhode Island, takes viewers 2,500 miles away.

Coryndon Luxmoore, a designer in Rhode Island noticed a three-second clip that looked a little out of place.

"It looked a little too modern for most Rhode Island architecture," Luxmoore told WPRI.

So he did a Google Image search for a similar image and found video was actually taken in Iceland.

As a designer, Luxmoore says things can slip through the cracks, but he says the more concerning part is the price the state paid for the slogan.

"But it does raise some questions in context with the logo about how this project was managed, how it was approved and overseen by the folks at the commerce corporation," Luxmoore said.

A company called Indiewhip was contracted to produce the video and told WPRI, “Indiewhip had been contracted to edit this presentation video and we made the decision to insert the content in question during the editing process. The footage in question is of a Rhode Island skateboarder, filmed by a Rhode Islander. Again, we sincerely apologize to the state of Rhode Island for this error.”

Indiewhip has taken the video down to re-edit it. The company says it won’t charge the state money to fix the problem.

Cox Media Group