PROVIDENCE, R.I. — "The tagline is 'Rhode Island,'" the state's commerce secretary said Wednesday, announcing that Rhode Island will not look for a new slogan to replace the maligned and abandoned catch phrase "Cooler & Warmer" as it moves ahead with a $5 million marketing campaign.

"I think even better than having a tagline is having as many slogans as Rhode Islanders produce," Commerce Secretary Stefan Pryor told reporters Wednesday. "And I would tell you that some states don’t have a tagline. They emphasize the name of the state. I think we are in a good place if we put [the slogan] behind us."

Pryor sought to put the marketing campaign's rocky launch behind him as he addressed questions from state lawmakers vetting a $5 million tourism budget request for next year and whether mistakes — including the unpopular slogan, a promotional video featuring footage of Iceland and inaccuracies on the tourism website — would be repeated.

"It is very important we promote tourism outside our state," Pryor told the House Finance Committee. "The logo and slogan were of modest importance."

Important or not, state officials had plenty of logo and slogan choices to pick from and documents showing more than a dozen of the rejected options proposed by consultants Milton Glaser and Havas PR North America were released Wednesday.

Slogans left on the cutting room floor included "A Lively Experience," "Far From Small," "Small is Good," "The Island Effect" and "Rhode Island, Yes," according to a December slideshow presentation.

In a briefing with reporters, Pryor said that initially he was "not crazy" about "Cooler & Warmer," but the tagline had tested well with the public and "it has grown on me."

On the logo front, the "white sail" design that was chosen beat out options, including an image of Bob Dylan, a lighthouse within a light blue "R" and a hand drawn ribbon with Rhode Island written on a black background.

The botched launch of the tourism campaign (which included footage of Iceland), which Pryor blamed on "technical mistakes" and "quality-control errors," forced the resignation of chief marketing officer Betsy Wall less than three months after she was hired. Pryor Wednesday declined to discuss whether the state had reached a severance agreement with Wall.

Looking to the marketing campaign's future, Pryor said Jamestown-based Epic Decade, which has taken a lead role since Wall's departure, will soon be announcing a website where Rhode Islanders can submit marketing ideas and user-generated content, such as videos.

The campaign is focused on attracting "nearcationers," people living in nearby northeastern states.

Meanwhile, the state marketing team will ask for more involvement from the state's local tourism councils, Pryor said, calling insufficient use of the local groups one of the mistakes of the launch. Ironically, the new statewide tourism campaign was partially funded by diverting hotel tax money from the local districts.

And where has that money been spent?

Of the roughly $2.5 million spent so far, $360,000 went to marketing, $516,000 went to developing the brand (including the logo and slogan) and $1.6 million has gone to advertising. The ads include billboards, digital ads and a video that aired in airports and on flights.

Sixteen press junkets have been organized, in areas such as weddings, craft beer and for publications, including Forbes.

—panderson@providencejournal.com

(401) 277-7384

On Twitter: @PatrickAnderso_

Proposed tourism rebranding campaign