Walking around Paris during the last week, I’ve seen a few Smart cars completely smothered in ads.
Finally I got up the gumption to inquire with a driver leaving a Smart car plastered with fish, advertising a plasma TV: “Do you get paid for these ads?”
“110 euros a month,” he said. “It pays for my gas!”
He elaborated that there was one pink ad a few months ago that he found particularly embarrassing but otherwise he didn’t really mind the rotating ad program.
It started me thinking: drivers get paid for ads. EasyJet and RyanAir get paid to come to certain airports. Could there ever be a synthesis in the free rental car, one covered in ads? OK, even if it weren’t free, just discounted, would you drive around in what amounted to a sedan-sized billboard?
Have your say in the comments!
Tyler Colman, Ph.D. clutters up the internet writing about wine on DrVino.com.
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July 2nd, 2007 at 6:29 am
There was a dot-bomb company in Boston back in the early 2000’s who offered to wrap cars and pay the driver, but I haven’t heard of it since. I’d certainly do it!
mp/m
July 2nd, 2007 at 7:32 am
I’d do it for private rentals. I don’t think my employer would do it for business trips though.
This would only be applicable in dense areas where more eyes could see it. Paris, FR is a good example…
July 2nd, 2007 at 8:55 am
Nope!
July 2nd, 2007 at 10:17 am
[...] Travel Better asks Would you drive a free rental car? Walking around Paris during the last week, I’ve seen a few Smart cars completely smothered in [...]
July 2nd, 2007 at 10:20 am
I remember them too. As I recall, there was quite the application process. You had to drive a certain number of daily miles, and agree to park your car in high visibility areas. They placed some sort of GPS tracker in your car so they could see that you were following those stipulations. On top of that, they gave preference to drivers with certain cars (new Beetles and the like).
Just once, I would’ve loved to see a rusty, ‘83 El Camino covered in wrap ads!
July 2nd, 2007 at 3:49 pm
I’d do it!
July 3rd, 2007 at 7:49 am
of course I would do it! why not?
July 3rd, 2007 at 8:07 am
Thanks for the feedback! Good point Andy about the high density needed–I don’t think this would fly for rentals in rural North Dakota!
But hopefully some ingenious person at a rental car company will see the demand demonstrated in this thread and push the project through the corporate hierarchy, and free or discounted rentals will be ours! Seriously, in this day and age of viral marketing, it seems like it could be effective, though perhaps it would reach a saturation point quickly. Thus a benefit for the first mover!
July 3rd, 2007 at 12:08 pm
Would this really qualify as “viral marketing”? Wikipedia defines it this way: “Viral marketing and viral advertising refer to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness, through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of pathological and computer viruses.”
Why would I want anyone to know that I am a tourist or traveler when I am driving (or parking) a rental car? Didn’t Florida even pass a law to prohibit any special markings/stickers on rental cars after some high profile tourist killings involving the purpetrators identifying their easy victims based on their use of a rental car?
July 4th, 2007 at 5:30 pm
In Portugal there is an enterprise specialized in rent-a-car full with ads for 1€ per day.
Go and see it at
http://www.smartadvertising.pt/
This and other tips about travel on a budget on
http://www.callingeurope.blogspot.com
July 5th, 2007 at 3:55 pm
Oliver,
There you go destroying a good idea by rightfully invoking the hazard of death. I guess for it to work in Florida it may take more ads on non-rentals cars too.
At least it seems to be working in Portugal!
August 20th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
[...] of the blog Dr. Vino guest-posted about ad-supported rental cars in Paris a year ago. It’s [...]
August 29th, 2008 at 11:38 am
Sure, Why not!!!
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November 28th, 2008 at 9:43 am
i would do it we hard of it down here in oklahoma city so we checked up in it well it was not true it was fake but if it was real i would do it