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The story behind the Super Bowl’s ‘Bold North’ tagline

MINNEAPOLIS (Nexstar) – It’s everywhere you look. On pins, hats, and signs. The saying “Bold North” has become the mantra for Super Bowl week in Minnesota.

It’s a statement that tells it like it is. It’s cold and we like it. But where did the saying come from?

When Minneapolis was bidding for the Super Bowl, a business owner started campaigning to rebrand the area as the North instead of the Midwest because they felt Minnesota needed something they could own and that featured what this area is really about. The Bold North saying came out of that, and after receiving the Super Bowl 52 bid, the host committee adopted it as the theme. It’s a saying that shows those visiting the area that yes it gets cold, but Minnesotans embrace it, enjoy it and get out in it.

“For a lot of people this is flyover country. ‘Have you ever been to Minneapolis-St.Paul?’ ‘yea, I’ve been in your airport, it’s fantastic.’ Well, we want people to get outside of the airport and we are trying to do that under the Bold North brand and get people to come out and experience what we’ve got going on,” said Adam Johnson, Vice President of Marketing & Media Relations for Visit St. Paul.”

“It’s everywhere right now. We are all wearing Bold North things. And what we want people to know is that it doesn’t stop us. We get out, we clear the snow, we have fun and we get active. And really, it’s just about the attitude,” said Kristen Montag, Public Relations and Communications for Visit Minneapolis.

The Bold North will be evident on Super Bowl Sunday. It’s expected to be a high temperature in the single digits and a low of zero for all of those out tailgating for the big game.