Marketing Cheap Rental Cars
A Puppet's Ramblings - from Chip Martin, Mannequin American
"If your company's image looks similar to others in your industry, how am I supposed to know it's you?"
Cheap Car Rentals
If you want cheap car rentals this summer, Budget Rent a Car in Atlanta might have a deal for you ... if you don't mind driving a rolling billboard.
The car rental agency has rolled out a pilot program in Atlanta with 25 loaner vehicles -- 15 full-sized sedans and 10 mid-sized SUVs -- that have been wrapped with ads for Sheets Brand Energy Strips.
Although the exact promotional rates for the ad-shrouded vehicle vary, according to the Associated Press, instead of the usual $400 rental fee for an SUV for four days, one renter was able to sign up for an ad-wrapped SUV for a mere $88.
Oscar Mayer Won't be Happy about This
A billboard, located near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, from the Cancer Project of the nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine reads, "Warning: Hot Dogs Can Wreck Your Health." The headline is accompanied by an image of a cigarette pack filled with hot dogs.
The board was placed near the speedway because over 1.1 million hot dogs were served there during last year's races.
Of the campaign, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine Education (PCRME) Director Susan Levin said, "A hot dog a day could send you to an early grave. Processed meats like hot dogs can increase your risk for diabetes, heart disease, and various types of cancer. Like cigarettes, hot dogs should come with a warning label that helps racing fans and other consumers understand the health risk."
Why pick on hot dogs? So what if they're made of all the stuff that hits the floor in a slaughter house? If the PCRME has so much money that they can waste it on this billboard ... they either have too much money or they need to reevaluate they're marketing objectives.
Check Your Morals at the Door
The ad above is one of a series from Boomtown Casino that all use the attraction of dissolute principles to entice visitors. Appalling. But I really hope I get booked there for a show.
Four Funny Commercials
Let's Use Babes to Sell Beer!
This is really a lame, juvenile commercial ... but guys will like it.
It's business as usual for beer marketing. Lowest common denominator advertising designed to appeal to the broadest possible swath of beer drinkers who seemingly posses the worldly knowledge of a 15 year old boy in heat.
Click here or on the link above to see the 30 second spot.
Post Bank Commercial
Here's a rather humorous commercial for Post Bank. Click here to see a 30 second spot with a funny ending.
Dress for the Moment
I have absolutely no idea what this ad is for ... but it made me laugh. Click here or on the link above.
Mexican Mondays
This Jamochas fresh food commercial is in bad taste. Which is why you'll probably like it. Click here or on the link above.
My Replacement?
Above, in the dealers room at this year's Ventriloquist ConVENTion, Dale looks over a Mannequin American head built by my creator, Alan Semok. Alan is in the background in the blue shirt. Dale made me a bit nervous because he kept going back to look at this puppet. I know he has a penchant for Semok figures ... but come on ... he already owns the best one ever!
I know, I know ... you're wondering how much puppets cost, aren't you? Well you can pick up a useable figure for around $200. Some new professional figures run as much as $5,000. The head that Dale is holding in the photo above is for sale for $3,500. And if you're a pro, you'll need to have a duplicate made as a backup. So double your budget. Yes, I have a clone. But we keep him in the closet because he creeps me out.
If you can find Dale and me in the photo above, you have way too much time on your hands.
