PHOENIX – On Sunday evening, the official Twitter account for the city of Phoenix,posted a photo of downtown to promote Super Bowl LVII coming to town.
At first glance, the view seems to be from atop Piestewa Peak, a 2,608-foot mountain within city bounds, looking south toward the downtown skyline.
But upon further inspection, it’s all wrong.
The photo, while beautiful, gets weirder with time.
The photo shows high-rise buildings, a state highway and – in the foreground –mountains.
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But something with the mountains is amiss. They are verdant, green mountains.
And the buildings. They seem like they’ve been fanned out, like a deck of cards – no depth.
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Needless to say, people had a field day.
By Tuesday afternoon, the photo had more than 300 likes, more than 130 quote tweets and more than 350,000 impressions and counting.
“This is one crazy photoshopped pic,” said one Twitter user. “Surprised you didn’t drop in a jackalope too.”
“Drop the coordinates,” one said.
“Uhhhhhh what is this photoshop?” said another.
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“Looks fine. I don’t get the outrage. If anything, I think they should lean more into the bit. Put in a lake. Add some bears, moose, beavers, and other mountainous animals that are native to the area,” said another.
On Tuesday, Maricopa County’s official Twitter account piled on.
They retweeted Phoenix’s image and added their own comical mishmash: downtown Phoenix with snowcapped mountains, the iconic Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign, the New York City skyline and other out-of-place additions.
“Ah yes, we love Phoenix!” Maricopa County’s post said. “One of many beautiful cities in Maricopa County, AZ!”
All the city wanted was to welcome the Kansas City Chiefs to the Valley, after they secured their spot to face off against the Philadelphia Eagles on Feb. 12: “Congrats to the @Chiefs and welcome to #PHX. Safe travels to visit #Phoenix – and remember – your weather highs these days are our lows.. pack some shorts.”
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The image was the second Super Bowl-related pic to catch flak on Twitter this week. The NFL on Sunday tweeted a promotional image of four quarterbacks facing Glendale Arizona’s State Farm Stadium, which is sitting on a desert mesa. It could be the Grand Canyon. It could be Horseshoe Bend. If it weren’t for the saguaros, it could be Mars. Wherever it is, it’s not Glendale.
Phoenix spokesperson Matt Hamada was unaware of the spectacle when The Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network, reached out.
“Man, we’re just trying to have some Super Bowl fun,” he joked. Hamada said the city regularly uses stock photos for promotional messaging and was unsure if the image had been photoshopped.
Hamada later told The Republic that the photo is, in fact, a composite of multiple images. The city has tweeted the photo in the past with no significant reaction, Hamada said.
“It’s kind of fascinating to me,” he said. “It’s always a guessing game what will and will not spark engagement. While we knew tagging the incoming Super Bowl teams would get us some new eyes, we did not expect the direction the post has taken.”
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Here’s more from Phoenix on the photo:
“The City of Phoenix, like many institutions, uses photos and videos to showcase themselves in marketing opportunities. This photo … has been used for years by the City to highlight the beauty of what Phoenix has to offer. This composite and stylized photo was used with permission from Visit Phoenix for regular and special marketing events, such as the Final Four and Super Bowl.”
Reach reporter Taylor Seely at tseely@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter @taylorseely95.