STARKVILLE — Two men sit side by side on a couch in an unfamiliar scene. They wear opposing T-shirts, one donning the powder blue of Ole Miss, “Oxford” stamped in red letters across the front, and the other wearing Mississippi State’s maroon, “Starkville” in white letters.
“We asked the towns of Oxford and Starkville, Mississippi, to make each other’s tourism commercials,” a narrator overhead says. “They gladly accepted the challenge.”
As you can imagine, the video continues with a series of jabs, jokes and roasts from the respective teams. For a commercial produced for Visit Mississippi, an organization that promotes tourism to the state, it’s an interesting approach. But “those who get it, get it,” said commercial writers Robert Clay and Josh Snead.
The pair behind the viral SEC Shorts video series headlined Mississippi Tourism Association’s Spring Tourism Summit held Wednesday at The Mill at MSU in Starkville, presenting to more than 200 tourism partners, publishers, marketing organizations, hospitality partners and leaders from across the state.
“We love hosting any sort of conference,” said Paige Hunt, director of tourism for Visit Starkville, noting it was the first time since 2018 Starkville has hosted the state tourism summit. “But my colleagues are here, and any time you can show off your beautiful community to your colleagues, it just takes it to another level. It’s extra special.”
Clay and Snead began recording short-form comedy videos about the “personalities” of SEC teams about 12 years ago. It’s their philosophy that humor is a good coping mechanism for a football season gone wrong.
“It’s so absurd,” Clay said. “If you really look at the personalities, the storyline, the passion of the fans – it affects their personal lives, their moods for the day and how they feel.”
“They poison trees over it,” Snead added, referencing a 2010 incident in which an Alabama Crimson Tide fan poisoned the iconic Auburn University oak trees with herbicide, resulting in the trees’ deaths, as well as the fan’s arrest, more than 70 days in jail and an $800,000 restitution order.
In 2025 the tourism industry brought $197.9 million to Oktibbeha County, Hunt said. Those dollars are not just from leisure and business travelers.
“The fact we have a major Southeastern Conference university in our community opens up a world of opportunity,” she said. “For a decade, we’ve said, ‘We’re Mississippi’s College Town.’ Being home to Mississippi State really informs who and what we are and what we have to offer.”
During their keynote presentation, Clay and Snead shared their process for creating the Visit Mississippi commercial and ideas on how to use comedy in tourism marketing. They also offered advice on attracting more visitors.
“We’ve been to so many Southern cities,” Clay said. “Embrace your unique culture. Celebrate what sets you apart. Every town, whether bigger or smaller, has something beautiful about it — be it the landscape, history, the colleges…”
“Or a dachshund race,” Snead added with a smile.
“Yes, or a dachshund race,” Clay said. “We could use more of those in the world, couldn’t we?”
Derby dachshunds make surprise guest appearance
During Wednesday’s summit, attendees got a surprise when they stepped onto the lawn of The Mill and saw the Starkville Derby dachshunds and a 32-foot mini-course set up to preview what has become Starkville’s largest tourism event.
Last year, the Southeast Tourism Society awarded the Starkville Derby its “Signature Event of the Southeast” award, outcompeting events in 13 states. According to Starkville Derby founder Alden Thornhill, the award reflects how much the race has grown since it began in 2023.
“People are constantly messaging us asking how to set up their own derby,” Thornhill said. “We have 60 bars and restaurants around the country hosting watch parties. We get millions of social media views. It has become huge. It doesn’t matter how old you are or where you’re from – the Starkville Derby is for you. And there are absolutely no losers because everyone is a wiener.”
This year’s Starkville Derby is set for April 25, with 315 dachshunds competing for the Golden Weenie Trophy. Thornhill said dogs from 26 states are expected, with some coming from as far as Seattle and Rhode Island, and organizers hope to raise $100,000 for shelter pets.
“We have people come to the event and say, ‘My preconceived notions of Mississippi have completely changed because of a wiener dog race,’” he said. “And that’s a beautiful thing.”
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 39 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
