Hubcap signs put a new spin on advertising

By MELANIE AVE

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 30, 2000

TAMPA -- Some people put their message in a bottle. Others fly their brands on blimps.

Two couples are hoping you'll plant your missive in the center of spinning wheels.

Hunter's Green residents Harris and Audrey Romaner and partners Steve and Rhonda Kratz of Tampa Palms have developed a new advertising endeavor in which the names and logos of products, companies and organizations can be placed on hubcaps. They call their wheel covers "ad caps."

The couples say their mobile advertising, mostly unseen in the United States until now, has the advantage of being visible anywhere a car travels. And its advocates said the oddity of advertising on a wheel attracts attention.

"It's like a Lazy Susan, but it stays still," Harris Romaner said, demonstrating a gray plastic cover that can be snapped onto steel wheels. "It's a marketing product just like a billboard."

The company, adcaps.com, prints the advertisements on stickable vinyl and places them on the wheel covers.

The wheel covers, made by Tampa-based IWC Inc., remain motionless as the car moves because of a weighted centerpiece that remains stationary at speeds up to 70 mph. As the car moves, the centerpiece stays horizontal so passersby can read it.

"It looks like the wheels aren't turning," Romaner said. "It always gets a double take."

The Yellow Cab Co. of Tampa will place six cars on the road with advertisements for the Tampa Bay History Center. For two months, Gordon Chevrolet on N Dale Mabry has displayed ad caps on three of its service vehicles, and Deco Boat Lifts in Safety Harbor has used them on a six-wheel race-car trailer.

The History Center's G.J. Minardi said the hubcaps are ideal for the non-profit organization. "We don't have a very large budget to advertise," said Minardi, whose family owns Yellow Cab. George Massell, one of Deco's owners, hopes the hubcaps will build name recognition for his company when he takes the trailer to boat shows and racetracks throughout the Southeast.

Nelson Meyerson, general sales manager for Gordon Chevrolet, said the hubcaps are cheaper than painting the side of a car and then covering an emblem when it comes time to resell the car.

Recently, Meyerson said, he went out to watch people's reaction to the ad caps on one of his service vehicles. While the driver was going between 40 mph and 50 mph, "You could see people's necks turning. They stand out."

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