Ad Track: Marketers bet on lucky 777; that's July 7, 2007

Hotels, casinos and even Wal-Mart Stores have seven-centric promotions for the seventh day of the seventh month of 2007.

Consumers love numerological lore, says consumer-behavior expert Michael Solomon, and that gives marketers an opportunity.

The number seven has significance in many religions (such as the seven sacraments in the Roman Catholic faith). It also has more playful, longtime cultural and superstitious associations with all things lucky, including gambling.

"Casinos and lotteries should be big beneficiaries that day," says Ken Bernhardt, a marketing professor at Georgia State University. He also expects "this is your lucky day" sales by retailers.

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Wal-Mart's take is a 777-themed contest promoting wedding wares. For its "Lucky in Love Wedding Search," Wal-Mart will give seven couples a July 7 wedding ceremony and reception valued at $5,000 in the garden and lawn area of their local Supercenter.

"The cost of a wedding these days is astronomical," says Wal-Mart spokeswoman Karen Burk. The promotion "is a way for us to show the value of our products for a wedding — and how you can keep costs down."

Wal-Mart will set up a tent and serve buffet-style food, such as cheese, sandwich and veggie platters from its deli, as well as wedding cake from its bakery. Stationery company Gartner Studios partnered in the promotion, which had more than 400 entries, to provide invitations, decorations and favors, says head of business development Kathi Mishek.

Others seizing the day:

•Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

The Las Vegas hotel will host a huge group wedding at 7 p.m. that Saturday. The $1,777 package includes a buffet, an open bar and a KC and the Sunshine Band concert for the happy couple and two guests. "It became pretty clear to us that the date was special and we needed to try to take advantage of the demand," says Scott Voeller, the hotel's head of marketing. So far, more than 100 couples bought in, but Voeller hopes for more: "How fun would it be to get 777 couples?"

•Ritz-Carlton hotels.

The company's New York City Central Park location has a Lucky Number 7 July 7 wedding package with a reception for 77, a seven-tier wedding cake and a seven-night honeymoon at any Ritz in the world for $77,777. No takers yet.

The Ritz in Henderson, Nev., has a Seven Ways of Wonderment package for $7,707 that includes two nights on the seventh floor, seven hours of spa treatments and a $777 credit at Neiman Marcus.

It also has a Savory Sensations of Seven package, beginning at $777, with an overnight stay, a seven-course dinner and a 70-minute spa treatment for two. "We wanted to capitalize on the kitsch of this auspicious date," says spokeswoman Marina Nicola. It has had bookings for the $777 deal, but no $7,707 packages have sold yet.

•The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino.

The Las Vegas hotel hosts about 20 weddings on a typical Saturday, but for July 7, says wedding services manager Darlene Wilson, "Seventy-seven weddings is our goal."

More than 50 couples have signed up for the $800 to $7,500 weddings. The Venetian is adding new ceremony sites and will extend hours at its existing venues.

"We've received such a high demand for 777 that we're already preparing for 888," Wilson says.

Ditto for Ritz. That date could be big for Las Vegas, which attracts many Asian visitors. Eight is strongly associated with prosperity in many cultures.

Both dates should be luckier for marketers than June 6, 2006: 666 is the "number of the beast" or anti-christ in the Bible's Book of Revelation. Says Nicola, "We didn't have any weddings" that day.

Ask the Ad Team





Q: Does someone own the famous ad phrase "As Seen On TV" or the familiar logo that has that phrase in a TV-shaped red box?

A:

The words and red logo are in the public domain. Anyone who wants to put it on a package or use it in their business, can without a fee or infringing on someone's trademark.

Hundreds of independent stores around the USA use the name or logo. They generally offer goods also sold via what's called "direct response TV" — ads and infomercials with "1-800" sales numbers.

Many websites also sell such merchandise, but the name AsSeenOnTV.com is owned by SeenOnTV of Rochester, N.Y. Daniel Fasano bought the domain name 10 years ago for $5 million. The site, which had sales of $5 million last year, offers 1,400 products from his firm and others. Not all actually have been "seen on TV." Among those that have: SeenOnTV's Pasta Pronta, a tubular pasta cooker, and Clever Clasp, a magnetic necklace clasp, made by Idea Village.

To Saks, with love:

A giant shoe floor opening in August at Manhattan's Saks Fifth Avenue will have a chocolate cafe, an on-site cobbler, a VIP room — and its own ZIP code, 10022-SHOE. Saks will use the custom ZIP code, courtesy of the U.S. Postal Service, in its marketing, spokeswoman Lesley Langsam Kennedy says.

But who'd actually correspond with a shoe department? "People write all the time," Kennedy says. "They send thank-you notes."

Even a caveman could watch:


Bud.TV
ABC's Caveman is based on the characters from the Geico ads.

Trade magazine TelevisionWeek has posted on its website teaser clips of many new fall TV shows, including ABC's Caveman, a series based on Geico's ad characters. Its clip shows the hairy humanoids debating the politically correct use of Cro-Magnon. See it at TVWeek.com.

Airing grievances:

Looking to draw attention to the dismal state of air travel, Virgin Atlantic posted oversize air-sickness bags in New York, San Francisco, Boston and Washington.

Copy on the 3-foot "barf bags" describes shoddy service (except on Virgin!) and states: "Flying shouldn't make you sick. Or tired. Or sick and tired. Unless you had a long night out at the pub."

City dwellers have a taste for the gag. "People are stealing the bags … and put them in their apartments. It's like art," says Jeff Steinhour, a partner at ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky, which created the bags.

Rock on (not):

British shoemaker Dr. Martens booted Saatchi & Saatchi, London after an agency employee leaked on the Web unauthorized ads showing dead rock stars Kurt Cobain, Joe Strummer, Sid Vicious and Joey Ramone wearing angel robes and Docs.