High Desert Ballyhoo

During the summer of 1933, an experiment was conducted by the New Mexico State Highway Department and the Ward Hicks Advertising Agency to attract residents of Oklahoma and Texas to New Mexico. The creation of the New Mexico State Tourist Bureau followed shortly afterward, with Ward Hicks Advertising Agency promoting New Mexico to tourists through exaggerated images promoting illusions of the Old West, New Spain, and Indian Country. Ads in magazines such as Time, Newsweek, and Field & Stream captivated travelers, encouraging them to experience the Land of Enchantment. View some of the sensational photographs commissioned by Ward Hicks Advertising Agency during its many years as the voice of New Mexico tourism in the photo archives exhibit, High Desert Ballyhoo.