Restaurant’s ad campaign has fun with politics
Sep 10, 2012, 6:23 AM | Updated: 6:24 am
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — A Valley restaurant chain is at it again.
Every election since 2008, Stingray Sushi has been putting up political campaign signs on Valley streets that use candidate’s names to advertise the restaurant.
The signs feature both presidential candidates.
“We have 25 signs for Mitt Romney that say ‘Mitt happens,’ ” Stingray Sushi’s Brian Ruede said. “We have 25 signs for Mitt Romney that say ‘Mitt bit my Sushi.’ Then we have 50 signs for Barack Obama that say ‘Obama Cares about our Sushi.’ Every one of the signs also has a positive line that either says ‘Go Barack!’ or ‘Go Mitt Romney!”
Ruede said the restaurant had to create a political action committee to put up the signs. Each sign has the words ‘Paid for by Citizens for Sushi Political Action Committee.’ He said the goal is to raise political awareness while drawing attention to the restaurant.
It seems to work.
“A lot of people see the signs and think we’re taking a political stance either for or against one of the candidates,” Ruede said. “Some people find it interesting and some people are a little bothered by it.”
But, Ruede said, people see a sign and think the restaurant opposes their candidate and when they drive a block or two and see another Stingray Sushi sign praising their candidate, they realize the restaurant isn’t taking sides.