CPR Promotional Check-Up - Aug 15, 2022

UGLY Bartenders

One of the rev streams that didn’t dry up in March 2020 was booze. The liquor distributors seemed to sponsor about half of what we did promotionally.

One of the clusters has a distributor that would like to do something charitable in as many clubs and bars in the market as they can get into.

Easy: UGLY Bartenders.

This was around for awhile in the US and is still something that is a huge fundraiser for the Leukemia Foundation in Australia.

“UGLY” stands for “Understanding Generous Likeable You” and it’s a competition to see which bartender is the ugliest, ie: who can raise the most donations to benefit Leukemia research. And the participants have fun and get massively creative with how they do it.

The name….that’s the hook. And it’s about these people and their employers doing grassroots campaigns to get people into their businesses to donate.

This is from when they did it in DC:

How do you choose among the large, distinguished field in the "Ugliest Bartender in Washington, D.C." contest?

A patron, sizing up "Baseball Bill" Holdforth behind the bar at Runyon's, observed good-naturedly, "He moves with the grace of a baby elephant."

At Bullfeathers, Wally Waetjen stared at his candidate, bartender Wayne Brem, and said, "If ugly were power, he'd win," and went on to use the remark as his campaign slogan.

A woman, placing her vote for Helen Lee Lovette of Mr. Day's, said, "I think she's the ugliest because she is the prettiest."

For this contest, "the word ugly doesn't really mean ugly, it's more like favorite, or beautiful," explained Nancy Brannigan, project coordinatory for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, which is receiving more than $48,000 as a result of the zany promotion involving 135 area bars and restaurants.

Bar owners and managers, trying to lure customers who would cast a 25-cent ballot for their man, used every conceivable trick: "Ugly Auction Night" at Dankers, "Ugly Outfit Night" at the Bottom Line, "Ugly Redskin Night" at The Foundry, "Ugliest Customer Night" at the American Cafe on Massachusetts Avenue NE.

To bring customers in to vote for his "ugliest bartender," the manager of the Golden Ox reduced bar rail drinks to $1 and sold 25-cent beer. He also charged customers entering a dart-throwing contest in which the winner threw a pie in the face of the barmaid, Christina Ferguson.

Bartenders sang, danced and made phony campaign speeches, all in the good spirit of raising money.

Beowulf bartender Tommy McClellan chug-a-lugged giant schooners of beer at $50 each donated by the customers for MS research. By the time he finished his third, his eyes were glazed, but the cause was $150 richer.

Halloween Match Game

Match Game has always been a great methodology. You call, you pick two numbers on a grid and the DJ tells you what’s behind them. Match them and win whatever they are. Done by KRST in ABQ as Kristmas Koncentration.

Their sister station did it with stockings.

One station did it with booze during the holidays.

NOW in SFO did it as Mask Game in 2020.

So why not do it with either pumpkins or ghosts for Halloween. Sell clients into the board, stick a few cash prizes and tickets and passes to Halloween attractions in the market.