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PASADENA, Calif. — New Mexico's Tournament of Roses UFO-themed float didn't have tons of fans back home, but it won the parade's award for excellence in creative concept and design.

Now state tourism officials are waiting to see if it caught the attention of prospective visitors.

The state's 55-foot-long float, called "Passport to Our World and Beyond," featured three big-headed, green, space aliens riding in an open-air UFO, along with rockets, planets and a 24-foot spaceport tower.

Some tourism officials in New Mexico panned the $4 million advertising campaign that launched the alien theme, saying it was over the top and scary.

The theme stems from the story of a supposed UFO crash in the desert near Roswell in July 1947. The military said it was a weather balloon, but that never stopped the tale from establishing a spot in science-fiction folklore.

New Mexico Tourism Secretary Michael Cerletti said the float was one of the favorites in the annual New Year's Day parade. The Grand Marshal's Trophy was "the icing on the cake," he said.

The Tourism Department said its space creatures were made from crushed split peas, with clouds made of white coconut. The colorful planets were put together with hot pink, orange and purple roses and carnations.

The float's spacecraft was made of silverleaf protea, with accents of gray poppy seeds and white coconut flakes, and the spaceport tower was of yellow and button mums.

This year's 119th Tournament of Roses had the theme, "Passport to the World's Celebrations."

In 2006, the state entered a float featuring an adobe-style church - its first float in 56 years in the widely televised event in Pasadena. In the week after that parade, state officials reported a 16 percent spike from Southern California in inquiries for tourism information in New Mexico and the Tourism Department's Web site was visited 42 percent more in the first two months of 2006 than the previous year.

Tourism officials consider the parade - which is watched by millions of Americans - a prime opportunity to draw more visitors to the state. Cerletti pointed out that a full-page, color ad in a major magazine can run up to $90,000 while this year's float cost upward of $180,000, with at least $75,000 of it covered by sponsors.

"We'll see whether it translates to more inquiries," he said.