Loop 030 printable

Volume 2, No. 7. April 12, 2002

Big charge, no cost
Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, is once again flexing its mighty marketing muscle with radio commercials airing all across the state. Except that the park doesn’t get a single mention in the spot. In fact, Cedar Point didn’t pay for the spot and had nothing to do with its production.

The radio commercial is one of many promoting Ohio Electric Choice, a campaign jointly mounted by the Public Utilities Commission and the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel to educate Ohioans on the state’s electric restructuring program. Launched in January 2001, the campaign features several slice-of-life scenarios in television, radio and print ads to inform audiences that they have a choice from whom they may buy their electricity.

The coaster commercial begins with a male narrator, “Dan,” asking: “Which is more exciting? Riding on the world’s tallest, fastest roller coaster, or choosing your electric supplier?” The commercial cuts to the sounds of a scream-filled coaster run and a woman describing her ride. “I’m strapped in the seat,” she says, then she starts yelling: “I’m dropping 300 feet at 92 miles an hour. Whoooooo Hooooo! Here comes a 130-degree turn. YEOW! The adrenaline is pumping in my veins, it’s an out-of-body experience, but I think choosing my electric supplier is more exciting, Dan.”

For Ohio coaster fans, the woman obviously is describing Millennium Force at Cedar Point, with its 310-foot first drop leading into 122-degree banked turn at 92 mph.
The commercial, like all of other ads in the campaign, was created by Fitzgerald + CO in Atlanta. The ad firm presented a list of potential scenarios, easily identifiable activities people could easily relate to that could creatively segue into the topic of electric choice. Other selections included skydiving, a monster truck race and a football game. “When Fitzgerald came forward with the coaster idea as one of the radio spots, the Ohioans reacted immediately and enthusiastically: ‘Yeah, we’ve got roller coasters!’” said Nancy Manecke of Pierce Communications, the campaign’s contracted PR firm.

“It was a cherry on top for us to be able to talk about roller coasters in a state known for roller coasters,” said Richard Evelyn, vice president and account supervisor at Fitzgerald. He said his creative team was not looking to write a spot about Millennium Force, but did want “something people could relate to locally in Ohio.” The coaster concept also works well on radio, “the theater of the mind,” he said.

Meanwhile, at Cedar Point, “We don’t have a problem with companies using something like that in generic terms; if it mentioned Cedar Point or Millennium Force specifically, we would need to be involved with it,” said Janice Witherow, the park’s public relations manager. “Anytime somebody can give subliminal messages about Cedar Point and our star roller coaster, we’re not going to make any objection about that.” As long as the coaster is presented in a positive light. And the worst the current radio spot can say about Millennium Force is that choosing an electric supplier is a bigger rush. Whooo hoooooo!