Quirky TV Ads Worm Their Way Into Local Minds

It might be tempting to pull an Elvis when certain local TV commercials blare into the living room. But shooting out the set won’t get rid of these low-budget, low-tech marvels of marketing.

The quirky commercials viewers love to hate can be a powerful vehicle for mass market advertising. That’s because, for better or worse, the genre’s low production costs enable small- to mid-sized firms to bombard viewers repeatedly.

Well-crafted, well-placed spots can even work, or irk, their way into a community’s culture.

What local consumer doesn’t recognize jeweler Bill Underwood’s voice and his Fayetteville store’s promise to eschew “leaky diamonds?” Or, the fast-talking, arm-twirling Johnny Ross, who for Wholesale Furniture Outlet in Rogers exclaims, “If you don’t come see me, I can’t save you any money.”

“One of the most important things to do when you’re creating effective advertising is to be consistent,” said Mark Blackwood, executive vice president of Blackwood Martin/CJRW in Fayetteville.

“Whatever you think about the so-called annoying ad campaigns, they’re consistent. Over time, they burn their way into your conscienceness … but that’s a good thing.”

Corny local TV spots make up only a small portion of the local advertising market’s three largest media sectors — print, TV and radio. A group of local industry experts and insiders estimated the three pies combined would be worth about $100 million in Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas River Valley.

That includes an area newspaper advertising market worth more than $55 million and estimates of local TV and radio at about $30 million and $12 million, respectively. But it does not factor in other prominent local advertising through billboards, the Internet, Southwestern Bell’s Yellow Pages or cable TV.

Pricing for one-time, 30-second local TV ads can vary wildly. TV executives declined to offer even a price range, but based on advertiser and analysts’ estimates, they would probably average $500-$700. However, in TV advertising everything is negotiated based on factors such as timing, inventories and degree of preemptability. So the cost structure for airing those spots can jump quickly to thousands of dollars.

Local TV ad production costs range from $200 for do-it-yourselfers to several thousand dollars when calling in the pros. Professional “talent” also costs more.

Underwood’s Inc. produces all of its own commercials and places them through its own in-house ad agency, the William Gravely Agency Inc. Bill Underwood said that’s frequently helped him and son Craig Underwood make their advertising dollars generate returns of more than 5 percent of sales, which is the national average.

“We have always tried to personalize our store and show people that there’s a real person in here,” Bill Underwood said. “We guarantee good value, tell the truth and have quite a bit of fun in our ads.”

Harping on the Butcher

Tom Jensen chairs the University of Arkansas’ marketing department and holds the Wal-Mart lectureship in retailing in the Walton College of Business. He said corny local TV commercials tend to “cut through the clutter.”

“They’re different from the polished, glitzy national ads that we see all the time,” Jensen said. “They work well at raising awareness and recognition, but the real question ultimately is, do they work?”

Kim Eskew, vice president of marketing for Harps Food Stores Inc. of Springdale, is convinced they do. His grocery chain, which boasts 42 Harps and Price Cutter stores, has seen what he called a substantial sales improvement since launching its “Where’s the butcher?” ad campaign in 1999.

The ads feature Candice Hinkle of Little Rock as “The Harps Lady,” who patrols the chain’s aisles gathering bargains and touting Harps’ full-time butchers and USDA choice meat.

Eskew said the campaign was born after Harps discovered it was losing market share in a key profit center — its meat departments. The goal was to emphasize Harps’ commitment to quality, since it was one of the few grocers in Arkansas that still offered USDA choice and butchers to fresh cut meats the way customers want them.

Harps’ timing was right. Its primary competitor, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. was at the time struggling with a unionization effort by its meat cutters. Wal-Mart eventually eliminated the butcher positions from its stores. During a creative meeting with the Mullikin Agency, Harps’ spoof of Wendy’s old “Where’s the beef?” commercials was born.

More than 30 Hinkle commercials later, Harps’ name and slogan recognition during customer surveys has jumped from the 30 percent range to more than 80 percent.

“When people see Candice, they immediately recognize her as the spokesperson for Harps,” Eskew said. “It’s hands down the most successful spot we’ve had.”

Randy Mullikin, president of the Springdale advertising agency, said Harps’ target demographic was families, primarily women aged 25 to 54. He said the keys to building a successful ad campaign included making the spots memorable and right for each individual client. And, he said, that doesn’t always mean spending gobs of money on sets or models.

“People want to do business with companies they can relate to and trust,” Mullikin said. “Dave Thomas, the Wendy’s hamburger chain owner who recently passed away, wasn’t exactly a super model. But his commercials were campy and people loved them. Harps’ spots work for the same reason.”

Target Timing

Earl Myers, general manager of Wholesale Furniture Outlet in Rogers, routinely has people enter his story waving their arms like spokesman Johnny Ross or quoting his one-liners such as, “happier than a mosquito at a nudist colony.” Ross lives in Norman, Okla., and does spots for a handful of the Duncan, Okla., chain’s stores. But he frequently visits Rogers to shoot commercials in Myers’ store.

“I always get good responses from Johnny’s spots,” Myers said. “He’s all ad lib and a real character. With him, we can actually shoot a 30 second commercial in 30 seconds. It’s an obnoxious spot, but it’s obnoxious in a nice way. It’s a fun commercial to make and watch.”

Jensen said not every local spot works by simply being loud. Years ago, Carpet Cabin was known for its obnoxious commercials, but its Fayetteville location has gone out of business. The point, Jensen said, is to build awareness and interest, and let interaction do the rest.

“What these advertisers are getting really good at is placing their ads,” Jensen said. “You can get really good buys at 3 a.m., but that doesn’t mean anyone will see them. They are selectively buying spots when they know their buyers will be exposed.

“The ones who are doing it successfully know that ultimately the ad itself never sells anything, it’s the product and the company’s people that make sales.”