The Stinky Truth About Bathroom Advertising

We see advertising just about everywhere we go. Several years ago, a guy auctioned off advertising space on his forehead. He got an anti-snoring medication company to buy it for $30,000. Last year a woman sold ad space on her cleavage. Hooters purchased the space for $12,000 and a lifetime supply of bad chicken wings. As competition in the marketplace heats up, companies are frantically searching for new places to place their ads.
Marketing experts estimate that the average adult is bombarded by more than 1,500-2,000 ad messages per week. Companies will put their name on anything – pens, hats, sunglasses, towels, even body parts– and the ad specialty industry is operating at an all-time high.
Then, you have all of the “conventional forms of advertising” -- TV, radio (both terrestrial and satellite) print publications, the Internet, movie theaters, billboards, bus boards, ads on shopping carts, on the backs of receipts, on public transit and even in the bathroom. That’s right – most of us have probably seen it – restroom advertising has become commonplace in every city throughout the world.
I don’t know about you, but when I’m in the bathroom I want peace and quiet. Especially if I haven’t eaten well that day and am experiencing problems in there. Relieving oneself can be an arduous task all by itself, without having to stare at ads about computer software, bicycle repair and Hawaiian vacations.
I called a woman named Aretha Pearles the other day. She runs a company called “Crapitol City Advertising” out of Washington D.C. They’re one of the world leaders in restroom advertising. She explained the why’s, how’s and where’s of this burgeoning form of promotional marketing.
“Bathroom ads are exploding,” Pearles said. “People are more open to messages when they’re doing their business in the john. We’ve found a higher rate of retention happens in there, because it’s a crucial moment for most folks and they’re concentrating more. The messages they get in the bathroom have proven to last longer in the customer’s mind than they normally will in other locations. Whether you’re dropping a growler on simply urinating quickly, you’re going to remember something you saw in the bathroom more than if you saw it on the street, for example.”
Some of Crapitol’s main advertisers are X-Lax (“If they are having movement issues, it’s a good thing to consider for next time.”); Charmin (“It’s softer and won’t chafe those sensitive areas”) and Preparation H (“More than 50 people die each year from severe hemmies--did you know that?”)
Pearles’ company did a study and found that:
· 84% of the people polled remember seeing specific ads in the washrooms
· 92% were able to name specific advertisers without prompting
· 88% recalled at least 4 selling points in the ads surveyed
· 40% of the people polled got so excited about the ads they saw in the washroom that they soiled themselves or encountered spillage
· 8% were upset by the ads they saw and became suddenly constipated.
Pearles sees all kinds of new, exciting opportunities in bathroom advertising. “We’re developing programs right now to run ads in outhouses, on toilet paper, sanitary napkins, disposable/edible underwear, urinal cakes and toilet seat covers. This market is flowing at a tremendous rate, especially in places like Tijuana and New Orleans, where they have all that spicy food and people spend more time in the bathroom.”