Apparently, we don’t have enough tourists here in Florida. So the governor’s looking to spend $100 million next year-about $35 million more than this year’s budget-to promote tourism in Florida.

I have a more cost-effective approach.

We just need to reach out to the right National Football League quarterback.

Somebody like Peyton Manning.

Last weekend, Manning heavily promoted Omaha, Nebraska, while he and his Denver Broncos defeated the San Diego Chargers in a playoff game that was watched by 41 million TV viewers, making it the third most-watched AFC divisional playoff game in 27 years.

During the game, when Manning was standing at the line of scrimmage and shouting out the play to his teammates, microphones on the field broadcast him barking out the word “Omaha” on 44 of his 70 snaps.

Manning’s reliance on the word “Omaha” as some kind of play-calling code word to his teammates turned Omaha into a trending topic on the social network site Twitter during the game, and eventually led to a discussion of its significance by football analysts on a variety of media platforms.

“All ‘Omaha’ is is an easily understandable code word that won’t be mistaken for anything else, and can be used to signal something that the Broncos have decided ahead of time,” reported Deadspin, an online sports site. “How and when Manning assigns the word meaning is yet another example showing he’s one of the smartest quarterbacks the sport has ever seen.”

And I would imagine that a smart marketing person in Florida should take notice.

Omaha’s city boosters are rooting heavily that the Broncos win again this weekend, which would put Manning in the Super Bowl next month, giving him a chance to keep yelling “Omaha” during the year’s most coveted advertising time. Last year’s Super Bowl was watched by an estimated 108.4 million people.

“We’ve had people recommending ways we can turn this into a marketing advantage,” an Omaha chamber official said.

Considering that a 30-second ad during this year’s Super Bowl is reportedly selling for $4 million, the city stands to get about $8 million of free advertising during the game.

But Manning and his team might not make it. And even if he does, he might change the code word. Either way, it won’t matter to us. There will be another quarterback in the big game. So Florida has an opportunity to do something dramatic with a fraction of that $100 million plan.

While Manning is shouting “Omaha” during the game, Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers or Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks could be using their play-calling moments to bark out “Orlando” or “Boca.” Or better yet, just shout out the toll-free telephone number of the state tourism agency.

And considering that the Super Bowl this year will be played in New Jersey in February at an outdoor stadium, chances are that any mentions a balmy Florida during the game will have a multiplier effect for state tourism.

Omaha won’t have a chance.

Editorial, Pages 18 on 01/17/2014