“Wisconsin: It’s more you.” That’s what the ads plastered all over Brown Line cars and downtown gyms and bars would have you believe. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. (WEDC), the state’s development agency, spent $1 million on the ad campaign designed to motivate Chicago millennials to move north and over the border.

Historic Third Ward District, Milwaukee, Wisconsin photo by Shutterstock

Governor Scott Walker reportedly wants to spend an additional $6.8 million on millennial advertising in other Midwestern cities. How are Chicagoans reacting to the first volley of ads? 

Overall, it seems Chicagoans aren’t overly tempted by the ads depicting smiling 20- and 30-somethings enjoying the Wisconsin lifestyle. Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass wrote a scathing piece on the ads, which quoted a Millennial’s reaction: “‘It’s as if some old guy non-millennial in Wisconsin thought, ‘What cool stuff do we have to appeal to millennials?’” A Rare Chicago article echoed the dismissive attitude with the headline: “We Are Collectively Over Wisconsin’s Anti-Transit Ad Campaign”. 

The main argument of the ad campaign is Wisconsin’s commute beats Chicago’s by a long shot. The ads offer up fun alternatives to spending time on the L. One ad even delves into the data: “Chicago has the longest commute times in the country compared to only 22 minutes in Wisconsin,” according to the Chicago Reader.

The Chicago Reader takes a closer look at that claim. Milwaukee does beat out Chicago on overall average commute time — 22.4 minutes compared to 32.4 minutes, but the two cities come out even when it comes to comparing transit commute times. The average transit commute in Chicago is 43.4 minutes, while the average transit commute in Milwaukee is just a minute shorter at 42.4 minutes, according to the report. Chicago might have more sprawl than Milwaukee, but Milwaukee does not have a rapid transit system. 

"It apparently never occurred to the WEDC that there are people who actually would rather ride a train than drive a car,” said former Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz wrote, according to the Chicago Reader.

Just because Wisconsin’s ad campaign isn’t inspiring a mass exodus of Chicago millennials does not mean millennials are all content to stay put. In fact, the younger generation is packing up and saying farewell to the Midwest entirely. 

A Curbed report found both Chicago and Milwaukee were among the cities with the lowest growth in millennial population from 2010 to 2015 — 0.2 percent in Chicago and 1.4 percent in Milwaukee. Millennials are more likely to ditch the Midwest for cities in states like Colorado, Texas, and Florida. Eight of the 10 cities with the biggest millennial population boom over that same five year period can be found in those three states. Colorado Springs takes the millennial cake with a 14.7 percent growth spurt in the generation’s population from 2010 to 2015. Other millennial magnets to look out for include San Antonio, Denver, Orlando, and Honolulu.