Sun, Surf, Sand--and Ads : Marketing Fees Help Clean Beaches, but Is Clutter Replacing Litter?
Advertisers are making new--and deeper--imprints in the sands of Southland beaches.
What began in the early 1970s with simple Coppertone ads on trash barrels is on the verge of exploding into a major marketing mecca by the Southern California seashore. A new law passed earlier this week in Sacramento generally broadens the ability of advertisers to clutter the coast with their messages.
“You expect to see sunshine and sand down here, not advertisements,” said Jim Rae Higgins, a resident of Shreveport, La., who was visiting Venice Beach the other day. “Where does this end?”
No one knows exactly where it will end. But in Los Angeles, much of it begins with the L.A. County Department of Beaches and Harbors. On Jan. 1, a new law takes effect that expands--and more clearly defines--the authority of counties to sell ad space and license their property. And in an attempt to raise millions of dollars to help maintain 31 miles of Los Angeles County beach property, the financially pinched department is fast expanding its marketing efforts with major advertisers.
Besides the trash barrel ads (now supplied by the Wave, radio station KTWV-FM), ad space is being sold on phone booths (PCH clothing), tide charts (Vans sneakers) and county beach vehicles (Nissan). This year, the county also sold ad space to Vans on the back of parking stubs at beach lots. And Gatorade mounted clocks atop lifeguard towers with its familiar insignia.
The county is considering the sale of ad space on bike racks and benches to the makers of Body Glove swimwear. The county also wants to post large thermometers on lifeguard towers, underwritten by advertisers. And it may eventually sell ad space on a special 900-line telephone number that surfers and boaters could phone for wind and surf information. There are even tentative plans to license lines of clothing similar to that worn by local lifeguards.
“It’s not as if we’re trying to sell every square inch of beach,” said Dusty Brogan, who oversees marketing for the county’s beaches. “Everything has to be harmonious with the surroundings. We’d never permit something like free-standing billboards.”
There are several obstacles standing in the way of the expansion of the beach marketing program. For one, the Board of Supervisors must approve each facet of the program. At the same time, all of this is being closely watched by several environmental groups. These groups find themselves uncomfortably balancing their passion for clean beaches with their desire for an advertising-free environment at the seashore.
“In Los Angeles, going to the beach is the closest many people get to a natural environment,” said Peter Saundry, chairman of the Sierra Club’s regional Clean Coastal Waters Task Force. “It’s of concern to us any time advertisers show up on the beach. But we realize the county is in a tricky situation. Environmental groups like ours are pushing them to clean up the beaches, but those things do cost money.”
Money is, indeed, a problem. It costs about $17 million annually to maintain and patrol the county’s beaches, said Brogan. But the beaches are operating at an annual deficit of about $7 million. Brogan estimates the county could eventually bring in up to $4 million in additional yearly revenue from various beach marketing programs.
“How else are we going to keep services up?” she poses. “Where do we go?”
To advertisers, of course. And those advertisers who have tried it generally say they like it. The makers of Gatorade sports drink paid the county $12,500 to place clocks on 120 lifeguard towers this year. Smack in the middle of each clock sits the Gatorade logo.
“I suppose it’s a subliminal message,” said Scott Zagarino, president of CS Sports Marketing, the Brentwood firm that made the arrangements for Gatorade. “Someone who is hot and thirsty looks at the clock to see what time it is, and there’s the word Gatorade. So, what do you think they’re going to ask for?”
Although no official study has been conducted, Zagarino is certain Gatorade sales near Los Angeles beaches increased because of the ads.
The county turned thumbs down to Gatorade’s initial request, however. The drink maker wanted to place special Gatorade dispensers near each of the lifeguard towers. “It didn’t seem very sanitary to us,” said Brogan.
Right now, Body Glove, the Redondo Beach maker of wet suits and swimwear, is negotiating with the county about placing ads on new beach benches or bike racks it would install.
“Body Glove has been worn on the beach for 37 years, and that’s where we want people to think of us,” said Russ Lesser, president of Body Glove. “As long as it is done tastefully and unobtrusively, what’s wrong with it? The county gets money to keep the beaches clean and we benefit from the exposure.”
Advertising executives see plenty of potential in beach advertising. “If the ad is relevant to what someone is doing, thinking or buying at the beach, it makes a lot of sense,” said Alan Pando, president of the DDB Needham West. “But it would be too bad if the beach ended up looking like NASCAR,” the car racing circuit in which sponsors plaster autos with their logos.
One step removed from advertising is potential licensing agreements, including deals with clothing manufacturers. Don’t look for any company to promote red swim trunks that look exactly like those the lifeguards wear--but you might someday see ads for a manufacturer that makes trunks dubbed the “official” swim trunks of the Los Angeles County lifeguards. Ditto for accessories such as jackets, hats and even sunglasses.
One longtime lifeguard looks philosophically at the growth of beach advertising. “Look at all this graffiti,” says Larry Kraus, pointing to a lifeguard tower at Venice Beach. Advertisers help pay for the paint that will cover the graffiti, said the 24-year veteran. “On the scale of things that bother you at the beach, advertising is very low.”