BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Hollywood actor and “Transformers” star Josh Duhamel will continue to promote his home state of North Dakota.
North Dakota’s tourism agency confirmed Tuesday to The Associated Press that the star of several “Transformers” movies will be paid $75,000 to be the face of the state’s tourism campaign for the next two years.
Duhamel already has earned more than $1 million since 2013 to help lure visitors to North Dakota, a state better known for its brutal cold weather than as a vacation destination.
Duhamel is from Minot, a city in the north-central part of the state that’s about an hour’s drive from the United States border with Canada.
Past campaigns have featured the former fashion model as just a regular guy doing everything from fishing and biking to attending college football and hockey games. Some also include his son Axl, whose mother is Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie.
The campaign has included TV and print ads, as well as travel and hunting guides.
Tourism officials have said the advertising campaign featuring Duhamel has resulted in more than $100 for every dollar in state funding spent.
Tourism is the North Dakota’s third-largest industry, behind energy and agriculture. The biggest draw is Theodore Roosevelt National Park in western North Dakota’s badlands.
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