Cheesy Advertisements

**FlaGal** · 03-19-2007, 06:13 AM

Does it bother you?

I believe that people willing to pay thousands of dollars each month to have their face on a billboard should at least make sure their hair isn't greasy, they don't wear nerdy glasses and maybe dress in something a little nicer than a bleached out sweat shirt.
I've seen a billboard featuring a female agent with greasy hair, thick glasses wearing a bleached out sweat shirt. On the other end of the billboard is a naked crying baby. The caption reads: [Insert 4 letter brokerage] makes other brokers do this: [refers to crying baby].

First of all, I haven't seen or heard of any brokers crying over [insert 4 letter brokerage].
Second, what does this bill board say about [insert 4 letter brokerage]?
It says "We are trying to get your business by making our competition look bad!"
Third, what does this bill board say about how hard [insert 4 letter brokerage] will work to serve their customers? It doesn't mention it but [insert 4 letter brokerage] works hard to make their competition look bad.

Whatever happened to dignity? Are we nothing more than a bunch of car salesmen or ambulance chasing lawyers? Where's the pride? Where's the high standards? Where is the professionalism?

**Cedar City Utah Realtor** · 03-19-2007, 06:58 PM

I would have to agree with you on this one.

**Peppergal1969** · 03-20-2007, 11:00 AM

I agree with you.

This is almost as bad as a brokerage publishing a "sales chart" showing how they "outsold" their competition - they used a bar graph showing how pitiful other agencies looked compared to them...naming each company. Legal? Yeah. Ethical? I don't think so. Maybe if they had just done a pie chart and shown how they "outsell all their competition" or something...but to name each company was really tacky IMHO.

Making your competition look bad makes you look bad too.

**Deana** · 03-21-2007, 03:04 AM

I agree with PepperGal - we get enough character bashing with politics and news.

**RobGerhart.com** · 04-04-2007, 05:44 AM

I also agree.

Putting my consumer hat on, I really dont care if XYZ company sells more than ABC company. I want to know what is in it for me. If GM ran an ad saying they make Ford cry, would that make me buy GM? NO. But if they ran an ad touting how great there product was, and what it could do for me, then that would get my attention.

**tina** · 05-29-2007, 05:30 AM

Originally Posted by RobGerhart.com

I also agree.

Putting my consumer hat on, I really dont care if XYZ company sells more than ABC company. I want to know what is in it for me. If GM ran an ad saying they make Ford cry, would that make me buy GM? NO. But if they ran an ad touting how great there product was, and what it could do for me, then that would get my attention.

Well said and put forward in easy words. I agree to every word you said

**RealEstatePromos** · 05-29-2007, 04:05 PM

Everybody has their own angle on this. If it doesn't work, they stop doing it. It must be working if you see a lot of them. I sell promotional items and there are always a lot of people looking for new and different but the tried and true calendars, magnets and pens always seem to be the favorites..

**AlexandraRE** · 05-29-2007, 06:16 PM

It got you talking didn't it? How many people have posted about the everyday mediocre billboards with john and his phone number or bill and his bus bench? Boring. Bleached babe sounds like a loser but at least she's doing something different.

**Deana** · 05-30-2007, 04:14 AM

egggzakaly why Madonna is such a hit!! Although I wouldn't advise her approach in Real Estate (just to be clear about that), different is what people remember.

**ChristianOC** · 06-03-2007, 09:33 PM

Good marketing is about getting the consumer to remember your name. And the crying baby is something we can all relate to. Sounds like a strong ad to me. It would have made me laugh.

One of my clients purchased billboard space in Long Beach, CA alongside 2nd st - a major road that goes right through downtown Naples Island and Belmont Shore. The entire billboard was a photograph of her and her dog on the docks. Oh yeah, and she was wearing a bikini.

She received an enormous amount of criticism from fellow agents, and I believe her broker kicked her out of the office. She also ended up on several radio and television stations from LA to NY, and got about a gazillion dollars in free advertising for pulling that stunt.

She is still selling real estate, and doing quite well today.