It's So Cold In Ithaca The City's Website Told People To Visit Florida

Those of us in the northern parts of the country have had to deal with an unusually brutal winter for the past few weeks.

Between the relentless snowfall and the consistently below-freezing temps, most of us are ready for summer, like, now.

The tourism bureau of Ithaca, NY, is so fed up with the onslaught of winter weather, it's urging potential tourists to visit Florida instead.

Tuesday morning, visitors to Ithaca's tourism website, VisitIthaca.com, were surprised to see a pop-up ad for Key West on the site's homepage.

Text on the top of the Floridian advertisement read,

That's it. We Surrender. Winter, you win. Key West anyone?

Below that, it continued,

Due to this ridiculously stupid weather, Ithaca invites you to The Florida Keys this week. Please come back when things thaw out. Really, it's for the birds here now.

The hilarious ad featured gorgeous pictures of beaches, turquoise waters and lush greenery in the sunny Southern state.

Bruce Stoff, director of the Ithaca Convention and Visitors Bureau spoke to Ithaca's local newspaper, the Ithaca Journal, to explain the motivations behind the cheeky site revamp.

He said,

This is a way for us to stay engaged with our customers at a time when Upstate New York isn't exactly top of mind.

Though the site has since returned to normal, the attention-grabbing tactic may have paid off.

Several people have tweeted their newfound interest in visiting the quirky place, and the news seems to have familiarized others with the small, upstate city.

Due to the cold weather http://t.co/ABNS4ERohz is now encouraging people to visit Key West instead. @VisitIthaca pic.twitter.com/IP15Za9gLV — Brian Carberry (@CNNBrian) February 16, 2015

And while a spokesperson for the Florida Keys Tourism Council called the joke "the wackiest thing I've ever seen," he or she should be thrilled -- after all, as Ithaca just proved, there's no such thing as bad press.

Citations: Ithaca Tourist Board Tells People Not To Come To Freezing City (Daily Mail ), Winter You Win Ithaca Tourism Bureau Urges Travelers To Visit The Florida Keys Instead (Huffington Post)