"Virginia is for Lovers" has a contested history. Some say it was the original brainchild of a $100-a-week copywriter who came up with "Virginia is for history lovers" — until others in the Martin and Woltz agency out of Richmond (now the Martin Agency) decided to punch it up. Others say it was a more collaborative effort from the start.
Whatever the exact story, "Virginia Is For Lovers" is a classic example of less is more, because the removal of "history" gave the fusty state a whole new image. The campaign debuted with an ad in Bride's Magazine in 1969, the year after the summer of love. And the rest really is ... history.