175 miles of billboards on the wall…
It’s a terribly long, dull drive down I-95 from Philadelphia to Murrells Inlet, SC. A “let’s leave at 5:30 am and drive all day by myself with my two kids,” kind of drive. The landscape is dotted by countless Cracker Barrels, truck stops, surly State Troopers and the occasional outlet mall. Oh, and a couple of billboards for this low-key joint called “South of the Border” that’s totally trying to fly under the radar…
Those guys at South of the Border must have really taken the whole Rule of Repetition Marketing to heart. Never heard of South of the Border, which lies right on the North Carolina/South Carolina line? Then clearly you’ve never made the trip down to what has been occasionally referred to as “The Redneck Riviera.” (See, my parents live down here so I can joke about that. It’s like someone insulting your spouse; you can say whatever you want but a pox upon anyone who dares to utter an unkind word about your lovie. But I digress…)
Starting about 175 miles away, strange and slightly surreal neon-colored billboards dominate the sides of 95 advertising a mini universe of tacky tee-shirt shacks, an ice cream parlor, restaurants, gas stations and my favorite, “The Dirty Old Man Shop.” The fictitious host of this mish-moshed place is a character called Pedro, who, up until 1997, was such a racist stereotype that I’m amazed that they were allowed to remain as long as they did. In 1993, the Mexican Embassy complained about the billboards in a letter to South of the Border owner Alan Schafer. His response was to suggest the embassy consider the $1.5 million in merchandise he imports from Mexico each year. In a statement to The Raleigh News and Observer, Schafer stated “We have to communicate with the present generation — these baby boomers do not have a sense of humor.” You stay classy, Mr. Schafer!
Our pal Pedro is still the affable guide to all the tourist poo you’ll ever need, but he’s a kinder, more sensitive Pedro than he was before. With taglines such as “Pedro’s Weather Forecast: Chili today, hot tamale!” and “You Never Sausage a Place! (You’re Always a Wiener at Pedro’s!),” these ads aren’t exactly going to win you over based on their original copy or groundbreaking delivery methods. However, you sure as hell aren’t going to drive by Exit 1 without noticing the 165-ft. tall Sombrero Tower, and I’d bet my allowance on the fact that they don’t get everyone in the car assessing their need for fireworks and tequila. Are the South of the Border billboards annoying? Oh yeah. Did they achieve what they set out to do, which, I’m assuming, is build brand recognition?
Pedro and I both agree: without a doubt, the answer is sí.
Repetition works for them, but does it work for your brand? Are your customers tuning your message out unless you slap them in the head with it at least 100 times, or will they slap you if you even think of trying? Unless you’re paying close attention to exactly what people are saying about the way you speak to them, you have no serious way of knowing if all those ad dollars are being well spent. Statistics and impressions are one thing, but nothing will ever take the place of getting the scoop straight from the source. And what’s a solid way to find out what the word on the street is? Social media monitoring.
But we’ll get to that later. These Roman Candles and sparklers aren’t going to light themselves.
