New “chamber” hitching a ride on a starfish

COMMENTARY

Example of one use of starfish by the Indian River Chamber of Commerce

MILT THOMAS

New starfish logo for Charlie’s chamber

Radio age comedian Fred Allen once said that an advertising agency is “85 percent confusion and 15 percent commission.” No one knows that better than ad man and would-be politician, Charlie Wilson. He started his very own chamber of commerce in January claiming it would not be competing with the Indian River County Chamber of Commerce. However, on his chamber “about” page, he lists three areas of concentration – tourism, economic development and the Vero Beach business community. Well, if it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, it must be Charlie’s new chamber.

If that didn’t create enough confusion, then the “welcome” letter he sent to Vero Beach businesses with an invoice “for your annual membership” was paid by at least a few businesses thinking it came from the Indian River County Chamber. (See: What is the meaning of joined?)

Another recent example of the Indian River County Chamber starfish logo

It wasn’t illegal, but it was slick and completed Fred Allen’s confusion and commission formula.

His latest act is a “remora” of advertising. The remora, of course, is a fish that attaches itself to a shark so it can benefit from any half-eaten fish remains that drift by. In an attempt not to compete with the established chamber, Charlie’s new logo is a starfish, which just happens to closely resemble the starfish that Indian River County Chamber of Commerce has used in a number of ads. Of course it’s not exactly the same – the Chamber usage is original art while the new “chamber’s” is just a scan of someone else’s artwork. I guess you can add conscription to confusion and commission.

Charlie has had help in creating his confusion. Back in January, the island weekly published a “story” (in quotes because it so closely resembled a press release) about Charlie’s new chamber with a photo of him standing in front of the Indian River County Chamber of Commerce. If I didn’t know better, I would think this photo and the welcome invoice were part of a master advertising plan. Then again, maybe I don’t know better.

Though the new “chamber’s” leaders may claim they intended all along to use a starfish in their logo, the group did, in fact, start out using as a graphic “Discover Vero,” with palm trees in the “O.”

The Scripps Treasure Coast daily also gave Charlie’s chamber a boost, probably because of his unabashed support of the Vero Electric sale-at-any-cost to FPL, Scripps also supports. Politics do not necessarily make strange bedfellows.

Fortunately, confusion-based advertising can only go so far. One of the membership “benefits” of Charlie’s chamber is a free listing on his website. Of the 80 or so members he claims to have, the website lists four hotels, two grocery stores, a bar and eight restaurants, including McDonald’s, Burger King and Jersey Mike’s Subs. Under “things to do” and under “services,” there are no listings.

Now I realize they’ve only been open for business five months, and the executive director he hired only lasted three days on the job, so he probably deserves a chance to save face, but the one promise he made when he opened his chamber, the one where he said he would not compete with the Indian River County Chamber of Commerce, is the only one un-confusing thing he’s done so far.

Editor’s Note: Acting president of the new Vero Beach Chamber of Commerce, Charlie Wilson, responded to this commentary late Monday night, writing, “The FACT is that the right to the logo was purchased in December of 2013.” Wilson gave no details. If Wilson and the new Vero Beach Chamber of Commerce possessed the “right” to the starfish logo, that “FACT” raises the question of why it was not used on the new Chamber’s website until less than two months ago.

According to officials of the Indian River County Chamber of Commerce, the first use the starfish and the dominant color of turquoise in that organization’s new visitor app promotions was in November, 2013.

The tone of Wilson’s 11:02 p.m. reply suggests his response will be to go on the attack. One local radio host recalls Wilson once saying that if you cannot attack the message, you should attack the messenger. That sounds like echoes of Karl Rove, the political operative, turned Fox News commentator, who circulated the false rumor during the 2000 North Carolina Republican presidential primary that John McCain fathered an illegitimate child, and who more recently suggested Hillary Clinton may have suffered brain damage due to a fall last year. (See: Rove’s Comments Create Stir)