A popular seaside resort in the northeastern US state of Maryland is urging tourists to book vacations now before the ocean disappears altogether.

Borrowing from the style of Orson Welles' 1938 radio announcement that Martians were landing on Earth, the ad features the mayor of Ocean City calling on vacationers to book "before our planet spirals to a vaporous death."

"Fellow citizens, this is Rick Meehan, mayor of Ocean City, Maryland, USA, Planet Earth," he says in the ad which appears on regional television and radio as well as on YouTube,.

"A recent study in the Royal Astronomical¹ Society Journal predicts that our oceans will evaporate in one billion years," he says.

"This is not due to global warming but the natural effect of our Earth being dragged towards the sun, causing our beloved salt waters to just boil away.

"As such we are advising citizens to book their Ocean City getaway now, before the ocean evaporates. This may be the last chance you have to enjoy all that Ocean City, Maryland has to offer."

As the mayor ends his appeal, scenes of the beaches, fishing, tourist shops and children banging on crabs² are flashed across the screen.

Donna Abbott, public relations director for the tourist spot, said the ad aims to be "humorous" and is a tongue-in-cheek appeal to urge Americans to take a vacation amid a slumping³ economy and spiking⁴ fuel costs.

"We understand the environment, but these days, in all the gloom and doom⁵ of the news, we want to have people take notice and realize that they need to have some fun," she said.

"We recognize these are challenging economic times with gas prices increasing and it was a reason to be very aggressive in our campaign this year to remind people they need to take a vacation."

Ocean City, renowned⁶ for its 10 mile long (16 kilometer) sandy beach, receives around eight million visitors per year.

位于美国东北部马里兰州的一个著名海滨度假地日前打出广告，呼吁人们在海洋消失前赶快去那里度假。

该广告借用了奥森·威尔斯1938年在广播中制造“火星人入侵地球”的风格，让“海洋城”市长在其中号召度假者们“在地球极速蒸发消亡之前”尽快预定假期。

市长在广告中说：“亲爱的地球居民们，我是来自地球上的美国马里兰州海洋城的市长里克·米安。”这段广告已在当地电台和电视台播放，还出现在YouTube网站上。

他说：“《皇家天文协会期刊》上的一项最新研究预言，我们的海洋将会在十亿年后消失。”

“但这并不是全球变暖导致的，而是太阳对地球的引力造成的，这种自然效应将把我们深爱的海水都蒸发干。”

“所以我们建议大家在海洋未消失前尽快来海洋城度假。这可能是大家能在马里兰的海洋城享受的最后一次海滨度假的机会了。”

市长话一说完，屏幕上便闪现出海洋城的海滩、钓鱼、游客商店，以及孩子们捉螃蟹的画面。

该度假区的公关经理唐娜·艾伯特说，这个广告旨在以“幽默感”动人，同时也是在半开玩笑地鼓励美国人在经济衰退和油价上涨的重压下出去度个假。

她说：“我们了解目前的境况，但这些日子以来，到处都是低沉沮丧的消息，所以我们想引起人们的注意，并想让他们意识到需要出去找点乐子了。”

“我们认识到，油价上涨使我们目前正面临着经济困境，这也是我们今年在宣传推广中极力提醒人们出去度假的原因。”

“海洋城”以其绵延10英里（相当于16公里）的海滩而闻名，每年接待约800万游客。