The June issue of Travel + Leisure magazine features a listing of America’s Dirtiest Cities, with New Orleans in first place and Philadelphia in second place.

This undesired trashing has the media in Philadelphia up in arms, and the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp. (GPTMC) has even pulled its banner ads from T+L.

It may seem like punitive action in retaliation for the listing, but what’s more likely is that GPTMC did it because their XoXo banner ads were showing up above and alongside the dirty cities listing pages, as can be seen in the snapshot below.

Americas dirtiest cities listing on T+L with Philly XoXo ad

It makes sense as a destination not to waste advertising dollars on pages that are literally trashing your destination. GPTMC did the right thing here as an advertiser. Of course, it still makes it look like they’re mad at the magazine for the listing, but that’s a different story.

The listing is based on survey responses by T+L readers. It’s not a scientific study, and there were no categorizations or data provided (clean air, water, waste management, etc.). It’s just a reflection of what a representative sample of T+L’s readers think about Philadelphia’s state of cleanliness.

The media in Philadelphia are arguing that T+L has it in for them. In last year’s America’s Favorite Cities list, T+L visitors in Philadelphia ranked the city near the bottom (32 out of 35) for stylishness; 33rd for attractive people; 33rd for friendliness; 34th for barbecue; and 33rd as a relaxing retreat.

It’s hard to argue against reader surveys, and Philly may indeed look better for visitors after a cleanup and a polish. But other more scientific surveys and data indicate that Philadelphia is nowhere near the bottom of the trash heap, as suggested by T+L.

The magazine cites air pollution, tap water, environmental awareness, nice public parks and pedestrian-friendly streets as some of the things that readers may have taken into consideration.

But according to SustainLane, Philly is ranked among the top 10 cities for overall sustainability. It checks in at number four on the list of “Best Walking Cities in America” compiled by the American Podiatric Medical Association. The “State of the Air” report prepared by the American Lung Association shows Philadelphia is not even in the top 10 most polluted cities, let alone at the top of it.

Photo – Philebrity

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The Philadelphia Flyers are down two games to nil against the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Final, but that hasn’t stopped Visit Philly’s play to combine support for the Flyers with tourism promotion for Philadelphia .

Visit Philly got off to a good start before Game 1 by branding Chicago as losers with a bit of gentle ribbing in an online ad issued via their “With Love, Philadelphia XOXO” campaign, published on Facebook and their uwishunu blog.

Visit Philly Stanley Cup ad 1

The ad refers to the Flyers’ series wins earlier over the Devils, Bruins and Canadiens, with the implication that the Chicago Blackhawks are about to join the ranks of the teams vanquished by the Flyers.

New Jersey had some more salt rubbed into their wounds before Game 2, with a Memorial Day weekend ad.

Visit Philly Stanley Cup ad 2

This ad implies that they’d rather spend the Memorial Day weekend in Philly watching Game 2 on TV than visit Jersey Shore.

But it’s not just about internet snark against rival cities. Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC), which runs VisitPhilly.com, is printing 750 posters and 400 t-shirts before Game 3.

Also, Visit Philly has been in touch with Chicago Tourism officials, and they’re promoting both cities. Visit Philly put out a press release titled “A Tale of Two Cities: Philadelphia and Chicago” that lists sports curses on their teams along with tourist attractions and things to do for visiting fans in both cities.

So they’re not only offering tourism advice to Blackhawks fans visiting Philadelphia for the three Games at Wachovia Center, but also helping Flyers fans camped out in Chicago for Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 with pointers about what’s good in Chicago. 

With five games to go, it’ll be interesting to see how far Visit Philly intends to take this, and how much it benefits them by the time the Chicago Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup.