Dancing with the Cars

This afternoon, while driving along the main drag in town, I saw a hilarious sight; let’s call it a battle of the fast food mascots.

Three out of four corners were occupied by dancing food — a dancing Pita Pit pita on one corner, a dancing Quizno’s drink on another, and a dancing Yogurt Hut cup of frozen yogurt, complete with a cherry on his head, on the third.

All of them were trying desperately to attract attention to their respective joints, just off the main strip.

I didn’t see any cars turning off their usual routes because of the dancing mascots… and I wondered how effective it was.

Is it meant to inspire people to take immediate action… or simply to place a new awareness in their minds, for the next time they’re craving a pita or yogurt treat?

I’d be very curious about the return on investment.

One thing I noticed about them is that the yogurt cup had the best dance moves of the trio.

But more so, it reminded me of one of Barry’s treasured old books that I read over the weekend, called A Rich Man’s Secret by Ken Roberts. It was partially set in this same town, or a fictional version of it, which made this even more intriguing.

In it, the titular Rich Man tells a story about how codfish lay a million eggs and do nothing, while chickens lay a single egg and cackle up a storm — illustrating that it pays to advertise.

The depth and main point of the book is a lot more profound than just that little gem, and related to core personal development changes rather than business or marketing. It changed how I look at the world, just as it did Barry when he read it almost 15 years ago.

But back to the mascots, dancing alongside the cars.

Is it marketing genius… aimless nonsense… or just plain old fun?

If you have any experience with this type of guerrilla marketing, I’d love to hear it in the comments below.

Keep Unwrapping your Success!