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The 106th Florida State Fair opens on February 4, 2010. And, while folks all over Florida can save the day to visit the Fair, the Fair will be saving the day from villains such as high prices and recessionary gloom with the 2010 Florida State Fair theme of 'Super Fair – Super Fun – Super Value'. "We can’t fix all the world’s ills," says Charles Pesano, Executive Director of the Florida State Fair, "But we can save the day by offering people an escape from high prices with some fantastic Florida fun at a value that really is exceptional. Where else can folks find and enjoy over 200 amazing attractions and animals for less than the cost of a movie and popcorn?"

More than 70 years ago, the very first superheroes debuted during the dire times of the Great Depression and the early years of World War II. Their names became legend -- SupermanTM, BatmanTM, Wonder WomanTM, Captain AmericaTM -- and they're still with us today. In the 1930's, the American Dream had become a nightmare. Comic books and superheroes in particular provided an escapist form of entertainment that allowed the American public to go into a fantasy world where all ills were righted by these larger-than-life heroes. Today, the public is turning again to costumed heroes in record numbers. Movies based on comic books are often box office successes. Comic books remain a strong industry even in today's society.

Bright Monkey Marketing, a Tampa communications group that creates conversations between customers and brands, developed the 2010 logo and theme for the Florida State Fair. "The comic book superhero came out of a context in which the political, social and economic realities were a little tough," says Thom VanderKlipp, a founding partner of Bright Monkey says. "We can certainly relate to those realities now in our own day. I think the resurgence of popularity of superheroes can be attributed to that."

With the aid of the Bright Monkey Marketing creative team and Rip Stalvey, Interim Director of Marketing for the Florida State Fair at the helm, the Fair has some first-time-ever ideas to engage new Fair visitors and make this year’s communications campaign as fun and interactive as the Fair itself. The Fair will kick start the campaign with an audition/casting call to discover Florida’s very own superheroes, "The League of Fair-ness". The casting call will be a super fun combination of an American Idol-style audition and Florida’s most fun costume party with a fair twist. Auditions to be held on October 29-30 will be videotaped and integrated it into the Fair’s viral marketing strategy culminating into a contest whereby the public can vote for their favorite costumed character that may ultimately be chosen to be part of the Florida State Fair’s "League of Fair-ness". And being part of this select group can make you famous too while getting paid to make appearances at community events to promote the 2010 Florida State Fair.