I’ll Have The Soup of the Day, and a $15.00 Coupon For a Tan?

I’ll Have The Soup of the Day, and a $15.00 Coupon For a Tan?

By Carlos C. Franco
April 1, 2007

CARLSBAD – I am going to describe a scene that I’m sure all of you are familiar with:
You’ve come to the end of your day, you’re hungry, and nothing sounds better than a trip to your favorite fast food joint to grab a bite to eat as you decide upon which movie to watch. When you arrive, it turns out that the entire block that you live on had the same idea as you, and there is small line in front of the register. You glance around the room and make an estimate that you have at least five minutes to kill before you are at the front of the line giving your order to the clerk, so you grab an all too familiar menu to peruse while you wait. Nothing out of the ordinary with that scenario right?

As I casually waited in line at my favorite restaurant, Joey’s Smokin’ BBQ, to order their to-die-for Smokin’ Buffalo Wings and a pint of Fat Tire Ale, I noticed something a little different with their menu; It was a little larger, with some new colors, and more than a handful of new items. Along with the new menu facelift came thirteen new accessories, advertisements from businesses local to that region specifically targeted to that demographic! I remember thinking to myself, “What a crazy idea.” Which was immediately followed by “Why didn’t I think of that!”

“Menu Advertising,” is the brain-child of Chatsworth California company, Reliable Advertising. After a little bit of Internet sleuthing, I came to find out a couple of things about this company and their advertising campaign:
1. Their Internet site, www.reliableadvertising.com, wasn’t completely set up for visitors. Their main page was available, but there were no extension pages, (i.e. ‘About Us,’ ‘Contact Info,’ ‘Clients.’)
2. They appear to be the advertising vehicle for some pretty recognizable businesses such as: Fuddruckers, Tony Roma’s, and ‘Y’Not Burgers, along with my favorite hang out, Joey’s Smokin’ BBQ.

Now I say, “appear to be,” only because I cannot validate whether they are active accounts, or simply past clients. The only companies I can for sure validate are the ones on the menu take-away that I brought home for this article. After a couple of phone calls I got some information, but not a great deal because after all, it is Sunday. I will post an update as soon as I get more information. But what I do have is as follows:
• Their menu dimensions are about 11” x 19 ½ ”
• They appear to sell ad space in 3 ¼ page, ¼ page, 4” x 5” 1/3rd panel, 5” x 6” 1/2 panel, and 8” x 4” 3/4 panel.
• There is only one restaurant advertisement, which belongs to the establishment where the ad can be found; and it includes the entire menu for the restaurant.
• Contacting Reliable Advertising is apparently not as easy as navigating one of their ads. The contact number leads to a voicemail, which then quickly tells you that you need to call one of three other phone numbers in order to talk to someone with a pulse. I did manage to get these two before getting hung-up on by the voicemail. For questions about Menu Advertising, Niki Stevens appears to be the go-to-gal at 818.347.7153, and their sales department can be reached at 818.357.4534. There is also an email address for sales at sales@reliableadvertising.com

One thing I will admit about this new proliferation of media into our daily lives is that it makes me revisit this idea; Proclamations about “The Party” or “System” is viewed directly for what it is, propaganda for a totalitarianism, and is closely associated with socialism or communism. (Which is bad.) But miles and miles of advertisements for products and services, which serve as the wheels of businesses and ultimately the system of consumerism, are seen as empowering liberty and choice. (Which is good.) But my big questions are these: Is there that big a difference between the “The State” telling you what you need and what’s good for you at every available nook and corner, versus businesses? And isn’t advertising virtually identical in nature to propaganda? Do me a favor; let me know what you think about it. Leave a comment and/or argument and ask your friends to do the same.