My morning drive to work today was nice and easy, as many people have taken the day off for their Thanksgiving travel and festivity planning. But, one thing that made it even nicer was not having to pay the Toll. No, not today. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to snap a picture of the toll booth before driving through, but there were signs with "Your Toll is on the House", which the unusually jolly toll-taker repeated as they denied my dollar and handed me a sample of Maxwell House coffee.
Pictures of the free booty below.
It's an interesting tie-in for this season. I have to wonder if they are doing it free only during rush hour, figuring that many people wouldn't be going into work today, or if it's an all day thing (I'll find out when I head home).
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That's pretty cool. The first sponsored highway?
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PermalinkIn the belief that the Caffeinegoddess has not relocated a few hours south (and therefore would not be driving on the Pennsylvania Turnpike), Maxwell House is ALSO paying the toll for people getting off the PA Turnpike at the Valley Forge Exit. (Not my exit this year, shucks).
Anybody else have any other locations (tolls) where Maxwell House is paying??
Allan...
"Remember, no matter where you go... There you are." (Buckaroo Banzai).
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PermalinkReplying to myself - I must have been watching a Head-On! commercial too many times, times, times, times.....
According to the Associated Press (via a local news website):
"The busiest travel day of the year is here, and a coffee company is hoping to make the ride a little easier.
Maxwell House announced it will pay the fares of drivers exiting the Pennsylvania Turnpike at the Monroeville exit near Pittsburgh and the Valley Forge Interchange near Philadelphia.
In all, eight cities including Chicago, Boston, Dallas and Atlanta are participating in the promotion from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Wednesday.
The coffee company is passing out samples of Maxwell House coffee at the tolls, too.
Maxwell House also plans to donate up to $100,000 to the food bank system known as America's Second Harvest."
Allan...
"Remember, no matter where you go... There you are." (Buckaroo Banzai).
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PermalinkNice! I didn't even think to look for a press release for the event. I blame my massive task list for the day for clouding my head. You rock. :D
Ah so it is just rush hour. Makes sense. It's got to be expensive already as is, but I'm thinking they picked today hoping that there would be fewer people on the road at that time.
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PermalinkAh, righto - That'd be the Mass Pike I'm talking about.
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PermalinkPretty clever promotion. The Toll House chocolate chip brand managers are kicking themselves right now.
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PermalinkHahahaha, yeah I bet they are.
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PermalinkThey also handed out subway tickets in NYC.
http://askacopywriter.blogspot.com/2007/11/is-your-brand-force-for-good.html
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PermalinkNice. I like that.
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PermalinkThe same idea is in Penn & Teller's book, How to Play in Traffic (1997) from the chapter, Tell 'Em "Penn Says Hi" - II:
...if you happen to be going through a tollbooth, and if it is cheap enough, and you have to be in the change lane anyway, give the toll collector double the toll and say, "This is for the car behind me. Tell 'em 'Penn says hi' - "
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PermalinkMy friends and I used to do this to each other, and unsuspecting people behind us - back in the 1970's (except for the "Tell 'em 'Penn (or your own name) says hi', going over toll bridges!
Teller comes from around where I grew up (he went to my high school), and he's around my age.... Maybe he witnessed it, or participated in something like this, or just heard about people doing it, and he told Penn about it.
Allan...
"Remember, no matter where you go... There you are." (Buckaroo Banzai).
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PermalinkOr maybe Penn just thought of it himself. If I can get a message to Penn, I'll ask.....
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PermalinkIt's probably one of those great minds think in the same gutter situations. ;->
I have invented things (sounds, scenarios like this, etc. etc.), only to find out that other people came up with the same idea, sometimes long before I existed. (I had made up a sound signal when I was about 7 years old, so that other people in my group of kids would know that we were nearby - I found out that a nearly identical set of sounds had been in use by American Indians [as opposed to those people from the Indian subcontinent] over 200 years ago!).
More annoying when you come up with a truly original idea, but the technology to build it doesn't exist yet, and would cost $200+ Million USD to get to the point where you could then begin to build it - for additional multi-millions. Not having that kind of funding available (then, or now*), I could only wait for technology to catch up with my ideas, and then implement them. [I proposed using Laser Discs for storing computer data - back in the late 1970's, and was dismissed as being too "blue sky" - fast forward about 8 more years, and voila! CD-ROM! Another idea of mine, from the early 1980's, was to sell microcomputers from within department stores - the board said it was a nice idea, but they didn't need to focus on electronics any more than they already had. That company has since gone out of business several years ago].
Yes, some of that is sour grapes, but not really. It's just frustrating being a bit too far ahead....
Allan...
"Remember, no matter where you go... There you are." (Buckaroo Banzai).
* I do know someone now, who, if I had any brilliant ideas of that sort left in me, might be able implement them.
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