For Liza and Rick Looser, the decision to devote themselves to changing the image of their beloved state of Mississippi came from a conversation with a child. The Loosers, owners of the Cirlot Agency, a 22-year-old marketing, public relations, and corporate communications firm, have put their creative juices to work for “Mississippi, Believe It!” — a crisp, colorful, and compelling public service campaign aimed at ending negative labels that plague the Southern state. The pair, members of the University Club of Jackson,launched the pro bono effort in 2005 after Rick shared a plane ride with a 12-year-old private school-educated Connecticut boy. When the youngster discovered the geographic location of the businessman’s “funny accent,” he didn’t skip a beat to ask if his seatmate “still saw the KKK on the streets every day” and hated other races. This watershed moment led the pair to fight back with a Web site (www.mississippibelieveit.com) and a series of public service announcements designed to educate, evoke state pride, and spread a message of hope for youth that any dream can be achieved, Liza says. The movement humorously touts Mississippi’s role as the birthplace of the blues, and home of Pulitzer Prize winners, sports stars such as Brett Favre and Walter Payton, and more black elected officials than any other state in the country. With more than $300,000 of invested time and not a company logo in the campaign’s site, folks often ask the Loosers why they took this leap. “We did it because it needed doing,” Rick says. — Helen Bond
