Wooing Amazon with sun, fun ... and giant buttons

By MATT O’BRIEN

AP Technology Writer

BOSTON

Mayors from Toledo to Tulsa are so eager to woo Amazon’s much-vaunted second headquarters that they’re brandishing bourbon, selling the sun, whispering sweet nothings to the company and even pushing its buttons.

Literally.

The Associated Press talked to the leaders of more than 50 cities or metropolitan regions about the different ways they’re showcasing themselves to the Seattle e-commerce company. The bids are due today.

300 DAYS IN THE SUN (OR MORE)

It’s easy for many metropolitan areas to emphasize their similarities to Seattle. It’s a little gutsier for cities to cast themselves as an escape from the rainy Pacific Northwest.

“We have 300 days of sunshine,” says J.J. Ament, chief executive officer of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. “Our skies are bluer and prettier.” Ament’s organization is compiling a formal bid that also highlights Colorado’s 45,000 miles of hiking, biking and all-purpose trails.

Austin, coincidentally enough, also touts 300 sunny days and outdoor activities – plus live music, festivals, sports and a “big foodie-friendly community,” says Mike Berman, a spokesman for the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce.

But wait: Albuquerque, N.M., has upped the ante with a claimed 310 cloudless days.

YOU DASHING ROGUE

Many cities are flirting with the idea of landing Amazon’s new headquarters. One Alabama city is REALLY flirting.

“Amazon, we got a 100% match on Bumble. Wanna go on a date?” Birmingham asks the company in one of hundreds of Tweets it has sent the company.

The city even set up giant replicas of Amazon’s Dash Buttons – those dangerous order-a-product-with-a-single-press gizmos – to send one of more than 600 pre-generated tweets to the company.

BEER AND BOURBON ABOUND

Bars, pubs, taverns, wine bars. Many cities insist they’ve got the best options for Amazon happy hour (assuming that local alcohol laws allow it).

“We have 348 breweries in Colorado, second only to California,” says Denver’s Ament. “That’s six per 100,000 residents.”

Louisville is playing up its role as the gateway to Kentucky bourbon country. Even the farthest-flung locales lay claim to a vibrant nightlife.

“Lots of bars and restaurants, plays, lots of music,” says Mike Savage, mayor of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The city, one of several in Canada making a bid, once billed itself as “the next Seattle,” based on its 1990s grunge scene.