SEATTLE —Sinking the hopes of anyone who wanted to believe that billboards recently pulled from Elliott Bay could have been remnants of a decades-old submarine advertising scheme by eccentric restaurateur Ivar Haglund, Ivar’s Inc. officials recently admitted the soggy signs were a promotional prank.
Seattle-based Ivar’s, which operates three dinnerhouses and 27 fast-casual seafood bars known for fish and chips, has a history of advertising and promotional silliness that stems back to its late founder, the jingle-crooning Ivar Haglund, who died in 1985. —Sinking the hopes of anyone who wanted to believe that billboards recently pulled from Elliott Bay could have been remnants of a decades-old submarine advertising scheme by eccentric restaurateur Ivar Haglund, Ivar’s Inc. officials recently admitted the soggy signs were a promotional prank.
“One goal was to see a five-point gain in customer counts,” Bob Donegan, president of Ivar’s Inc., said of initiating the advertising gambit. —Sinking the hopes of anyone who wanted to believe that billboards recently pulled from Elliott Bay could have been remnants of a decades-old submarine advertising scheme by eccentric restaurateur Ivar Haglund, Ivar’s Inc. officials recently admitted the soggy signs were a promotional prank.
“Another goal was to bring humor to the dismal fall in Seattle,” he said, pointing to seasonal bad vibes caused by the struggling local professional baseball and football franchises and “nasty political campaigns.” —Sinking the hopes of anyone who wanted to believe that billboards recently pulled from Elliott Bay could have been remnants of a decades-old submarine advertising scheme by eccentric restaurateur Ivar Haglund, Ivar’s Inc. officials recently admitted the soggy signs were a promotional prank.
The billboard-related food offers are available through Nov. 22 and include a bowl of chowder for 75 cents, down from $3.29 at the company’s seafood bars and $3.95 at its dinnerhouses. Also being offered is a free kids’ menu entrée, normally priced from $4.95 to $7.25 depending on the concept visited, with the purchase of a regular entrée. —Sinking the hopes of anyone who wanted to believe that billboards recently pulled from Elliott Bay could have been remnants of a decades-old submarine advertising scheme by eccentric restaurateur Ivar Haglund, Ivar’s Inc. officials recently admitted the soggy signs were a promotional prank.
“We have seen a doubling in sales of the cups of chowder since the campaign began, [but] not as strong redemption in the free kids’ meals portions,” Donegan said. —Sinking the hopes of anyone who wanted to believe that billboards recently pulled from Elliott Bay could have been remnants of a decades-old submarine advertising scheme by eccentric restaurateur Ivar Haglund, Ivar’s Inc. officials recently admitted the soggy signs were a promotional prank.
“Overall,” he continued, “it looks like the campaign may be worth up to 10 points in customer counts–but there is still a month to run and all elements are still not in place, [as] some more [replica] billboards go up next week.” —Sinking the hopes of anyone who wanted to believe that billboards recently pulled from Elliott Bay could have been remnants of a decades-old submarine advertising scheme by eccentric restaurateur Ivar Haglund, Ivar’s Inc. officials recently admitted the soggy signs were a promotional prank.
The sunken signs first came to the public’s attention in late August when a salvage crew, which was in on the gag, pulled from Elliott Bay a rusting, algae-streaked and barnacle-dotted billboard advertising clam chowder at prices out of the 1950s. Two others were later pulled from Puget Sound, Ivar’s representatives said. —Sinking the hopes of anyone who wanted to believe that billboards recently pulled from Elliott Bay could have been remnants of a decades-old submarine advertising scheme by eccentric restaurateur Ivar Haglund, Ivar’s Inc. officials recently admitted the soggy signs were a promotional prank.
As word of the discovery spread, Donegan, straight-faced but tongue in cheek, explained that the signs had been located using documents uncovered by a historian working on a book about Haglund. The old documents, he indicated, suggested that the underwater signs may have been Haglund’s advance work for an advertising campaign in the future when, the restaurateur suspected, regional commuters would use submarines. —Sinking the hopes of anyone who wanted to believe that billboards recently pulled from Elliott Bay could have been remnants of a decades-old submarine advertising scheme by eccentric restaurateur Ivar Haglund, Ivar’s Inc. officials recently admitted the soggy signs were a promotional prank.
From the start, Donegan said the company couldn’t be sure if the billboards were real or someone’s idea of a joke until authentication measures were completed. But in the meantime, he said, Ivar’s would honor the apparent 50-year-old deals on the signs, design and sell themed T-shirts, create and distribute replica billboards, and launch a contest using radio, TV and the Internet. —Sinking the hopes of anyone who wanted to believe that billboards recently pulled from Elliott Bay could have been remnants of a decades-old submarine advertising scheme by eccentric restaurateur Ivar Haglund, Ivar’s Inc. officials recently admitted the soggy signs were a promotional prank.
Videos of the make-believe sign salvage operation, along with information about the documents supposedly supporting the submarine advertising theory, were posted at the restaurant company’s website. —Sinking the hopes of anyone who wanted to believe that billboards recently pulled from Elliott Bay could have been remnants of a decades-old submarine advertising scheme by eccentric restaurateur Ivar Haglund, Ivar’s Inc. officials recently admitted the soggy signs were a promotional prank.
“We knew Seattle would respond to humor, and it has,” Donegan said. —Sinking the hopes of anyone who wanted to believe that billboards recently pulled from Elliott Bay could have been remnants of a decades-old submarine advertising scheme by eccentric restaurateur Ivar Haglund, Ivar’s Inc. officials recently admitted the soggy signs were a promotional prank.
Donegan said the company “gets calls, visits and e-mails daily from people who have just discovered a sign or the offers in the restaurants and love them.” For instance, he said, “We can’t keep in stock the T-shirts our crews are wearing showing the submarine. Our retail store on Pier 54 and the webstore keep selling out of them.” —Sinking the hopes of anyone who wanted to believe that billboards recently pulled from Elliott Bay could have been remnants of a decades-old submarine advertising scheme by eccentric restaurateur Ivar Haglund, Ivar’s Inc. officials recently admitted the soggy signs were a promotional prank.
Though the campaign only officially runs through late November, “we hope the good will lasts through the winter,” he said. —Sinking the hopes of anyone who wanted to believe that billboards recently pulled from Elliott Bay could have been remnants of a decades-old submarine advertising scheme by eccentric restaurateur Ivar Haglund, Ivar’s Inc. officials recently admitted the soggy signs were a promotional prank.
Donegan said the campaign was planned and conceptualized over a three-month period, with the on-water video shoots lasting two days. The campaign was executed in less than two weeks, he said, thanks, in large part, to creative contributor Terry Heckler, who has worked with the company for 24 years and created its iconic TV spot, “Dances with Clams,” a spoof of Kevin Costner’s Academy Award-winning movie “Dances with Wolves.” —Sinking the hopes of anyone who wanted to believe that billboards recently pulled from Elliott Bay could have been remnants of a decades-old submarine advertising scheme by eccentric restaurateur Ivar Haglund, Ivar’s Inc. officials recently admitted the soggy signs were a promotional prank.
Jack Barrett of WackoFilms “knew us and was very effective and efficient,” and publicist Tamara Wilson aided and abetted the effort through her “good relationships with the media,” Donegan added. —Sinking the hopes of anyone who wanted to believe that billboards recently pulled from Elliott Bay could have been remnants of a decades-old submarine advertising scheme by eccentric restaurateur Ivar Haglund, Ivar’s Inc. officials recently admitted the soggy signs were a promotional prank.
All in all, Donegan said, the undersea marketing adventure will cost about $200,000, plus whatever product costs are tied to the food discounts. —Sinking the hopes of anyone who wanted to believe that billboards recently pulled from Elliott Bay could have been remnants of a decades-old submarine advertising scheme by eccentric restaurateur Ivar Haglund, Ivar’s Inc. officials recently admitted the soggy signs were a promotional prank.
“We bought during low cost times for TV and billboards,” he said, and “we traded [out] a lot for radio [time].” —Sinking the hopes of anyone who wanted to believe that billboards recently pulled from Elliott Bay could have been remnants of a decades-old submarine advertising scheme by eccentric restaurateur Ivar Haglund, Ivar’s Inc. officials recently admitted the soggy signs were a promotional prank.
He added, “Our business remains strong almost everywhere and unless we have a disaster in the fourth quarter, this will be among the best years in Ivar’s history–almost like we found underwater treasure.”— [email protected] —Sinking the hopes of anyone who wanted to believe that billboards recently pulled from Elliott Bay could have been remnants of a decades-old submarine advertising scheme by eccentric restaurateur Ivar Haglund, Ivar’s Inc. officials recently admitted the soggy signs were a promotional prank.
