Remember the Hypnotic Donut billboard I found so distracting last week? I've gained 3 pounds since I noticed the lime green banner outside our office window. I can't stop thinking about doughnuts. It's gotten so bad, editor Joe has sporadically started blogging about fruit to keep his mind off confectionery.
See also: - I Ate the Hellfire at Hypnotic Donuts and Lived to Tell About It - Hypnotic Donuts Kills Dallas Observer
I talked to James St. Peter, the guy who sold doughnuts out of his car before he sold doughnuts out of a pizza shop before he sold doughnuts out of a doughnut shop, and got some more background of his marketing campaign. It's a lot bigger than a single billboard.
St. Peter told me The Marketing Arm is responsible, not for a single billboard, but for 12 massive signs in and around Dallas. The firm responsible for marketing projects for Sunoco, Frito Lay, Pepsi and other large companies decided to help small, local business with a special initiative.
Michael Lozito, senior account executive at The Marketing Arm, said the project, called Radius D, seeks to help growing, new businesses while also stoking creativity within the firm. Lozito looked for a fun, small companies that would likely benefit from a marketing push, and also give his employees a chance to work on a project that gets them thinking outside their regular clients. They donated the billboards free of charge.
The rest is on St. Peter. Now that his doughnut shop is subliminally fattening every driver who commutes in and around the Dallas area, it's his job to capitalize on the message. He's holding a doughnut run early next year that asks runners to pound a doughnut (I hope it's not spicy) before running 3.2 miles, and holding a toy drive for Children's Medical Center. Acid trip-inspired doughnuts could be taking over the city.
