Island County’s “Do Nothing Here” advertising campaign is worth keeping, but not with so much of its funding coming from the city of Oak Harbor.

At issue is how much each major government in the county contributes to the campaign, which is the brainchild of an advertising firm called Big Bang. The cities of Oak Harbor, Coupeville and Langley, as well as Island County, all collect a 2 percent tax on hotel, motel and bed and breakfast rooms to support the campaign.

Several years ago, all parties agreed to embark on a campaign to attract visitors from the mainland to Whidbey and Camano islands, using the 2 percent taxing authority provided by the Legislature. (This was on top of an earlier 2 percent tax each entity already levied.)

Island County, Coupeville and Oak Harbor all agreed to earmark the additional 2 percent toward the advertising campaign. Langley had already committed 1 percent to its public restrooms, so limited its contribution to 1 percent.

Eventually, an advertising agency was hired, which came up with the “Do Nothing Here” campaign. It started only last year. It’s a creative campaign that seems to be effective, although these things are hard to measure. It will likely take a few years before innkeepers can determine its worth. Certainly, it’s too early to kill the campaign.

The only problem with the campaign is that Oak Harbor is contributing more than its fair share, considering who benefits most. Last year, Oak Harbor chipped in nearly $70,000, while the much smaller, but totally tourism-dependent cities of Langley and Coupeville contributed $21,000 and $10,500, respectively. Clearly, Oak Harbor is spending a lot of money to attract tourists to spend their money elsewhere. The rest of the money going to Big Bang is collected by Island County, totalling nearly $80,000 last year.

Oak Harbor is trying to become a tourism destination itself, but so far it has not succeeded. Rather than spending its entire 2 percent on trying to attract tourists, it should be spending part of that money on something else for tourists to do here. After all, “do nothing” is just an advertising slogan.

The Oak Harbor City Council kicked off public discussion earlier this spring by notifying others involved that it may want to change the campaign contract. While politically sensitive, it was the right thing to do.

The city’s number one desire is a public pier, which will attract boaters and strollers to the downtown area. The permit process is under way, but there is no continuing funding source for the pier. Using half the 2 percent tax for the pier makes sense. The money could help pay off bonds sold to build the pier.

With Oak Harbor cutting its contribution by half, Big Bang or some other advertising agency will be able to continue the countywide ad campaign, although in a scaled back form. But over time, the campaign would continue to attract newcomers who will come back time after time over the years, and tell their friends about the great tourist destinations in Island County. The secret of successful advertising is consistency, rather than making a “big bang” in one splash.

The one percent solution would create a win-win situation. Oak Harbor makes progress on its pier while the countywide advertising campaign continues. The city council is on the right track and should make it happen.