Amazon took in 238 proposals from cities vying to host its second headquarters, and many turned to video to hammer their pitches home.
The bidding has formally ended, but Amazon won’t announce the new so-called HQ2 location until next year. Amazon said it will invest $5 billion and create 50,000 new jobs in the locale it ends up choosing—and local governments are pulling out the stops in response. While cities often play up their strengths for tourism, it’s unusual to see major cities lobby a company so unabashedly. The resulting campaigns took a range of approaches, from the laid-back and humorous to the energized and earnest.
You can see the variety in the videos from eight cities. So take a quick tour across North America with the pitches below—and if all the persuasion wears you out, check out Little Rock’s video rejection letter at the end.