A Topless Car Wash and shirtless firemen! What can marketers learn from them??

Topless Car Wash $5

The topless car wash ended up being shirtless firemen...

Once bitten, twice shy. That is how the saying goes. And there is a big learning and important principle for all marketing people to remember within this thought..


It suggests that you only ever get caught out once. People learn fast, and avoid getting burnt again.


It is an important rule or philosophy that marketers need to remember. One, disturbingly, seems to be forgotten in the heat of the increasingly competitive battle. We keep seeing what feels like more and more misleading and exaggerated claims being challenged and ruled against by advertising regulation authorities. The problem being, of course, that many of the most public rulings and judgments take place after the advertising and claims have run.


One suspects that some companies are happy as they have run the claim, had the sales effect and moved on to the next.


However, remember that a claim that is exaggerated or misleading may get you TRIAL but will not get you what is more important which is REPEAT PURCHASE and LOYALTY. This is what really determines success.


An amusing incident made reminded me of this. I had been reading a short article in “Britain Today” newspaper that was handed out at a hotel where I am staying on holiday. The article was headlined “Topless Shock”.


It told how sexy young women in Long Island in New York were holding up signs advertising a “topless car wash”. This attracted a lot of eager men with dirty - and possibly not so dirty cars - who quickly queued up. They found, once inside, the car wash that it was shirtless firemen hosing their cars down for them. 


The claim of “topless car wash” was right, but misleading. In this case it was a fund raiser, and so no doubt most men were rueful that they had been caught but justified it by saying it was for a good cause.


However despite it being “for a good cause”, I bet the same men would not go back. The ruse attracted TRIAL, but as was misleading and not what the target expected in the product. It will not get REPEAT PURCHASE nor LOYALTY.


There may have been some men, I guess, that may have found the sight of shirtless firemen hosing their cars down a surprisingly, unexpectedly and enjoyable experience...and so in this case you could argue that the trial would lead to some conversion and repeat! But not a good commercial case!


I think this tale, although amusing, is helpful to consider as you think about claims and their role. It is about getting TRIAL, but exaggerated and misleading claims may well create more bad feelings than good overall. 


Brand Integrity is something I comment on a lot, and this little tale is a good one to use in my view to help make judgments.


What do you think we can learn from the topless car wash tale?