Fly Fishing on the Raritan in Califon, NJ
Before I relocated to New Jersey a few years ago, my impressions of the Garden State were consistent with the stereotypes: Interstate 95 traffic jams, cogeneration plants spewing smoke, Tony Soprano, roadside diners, dangerous cities, people with annoying accents. But it took little time living in New Jersey to see that its range of natural beauty — from coastline, to quaint towns, to farmlands and deep woodlands — can match any state in the union. In spite of MTV’s Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi and Mike “The Situation,” most New Jersey residents have much more on their minds than “Gym, Tan and Laundry,” and the notorious Jersey accent is actually from Staten Island. Sorry New York.
So why doesn’t New Jersey hire a PR firm to set the record straight?
Before I had an opportunity to register my car in New Jersey, a group of teenagers who spotted my Connecticut license plates yelled at me in unison: “Go Home!” In defense, I screamed back: “Hey! I live here!”
So I asked my next door neighbor: “New Jersey’s a beautiful state, and doesn’t do justice to its lousy reputation. Why are people here so content to have outsiders believe all the negative stereotypes?”
“People who live here all know what a great state New Jersey is,” he said. “And we don’t care if other people find out, because then they might move here.”
New Jersey loves its bad PR, and has no interest in improving its reputation. Bad PR means fewer people to discover New Jersey’s prime fly fishing locations, more blanket space on its pristine beaches, and available tee times at its world-class golf courses.
But you didn’t get that information from me.
Marketing Craftsmanship 
There are several New Jersies….
1) What exit?
2) Posh NYC suburbs
3) The parts you describe
#s 1 & 2 are well deserving of the stereotype and those are the areas most travelers and commuters see. #3 sounds nice
Still, why does NJ love bad PR? They almost for sure don’t- If NJ did go for PR, it should be all about access to business and ports, prestige of NYC proximity, and lower costs of doing business. NJ could stand an upgrade in both image and reality for those areas that have upside potential and could attract middle to upper income residents and professions.
Hey Bernie,
Your PR strategy makes perfect sense, but it’s not what the populace is interested in. In fact, I understand that there’s a re-branding bill in the New Jersey legislature to change its tag line to “The Gangplank State…If you like it here, keep your mouth shut.” You’ve never lived here, have you?