Maaco's New Tv Campaign, Starring Pete Rose

SYNOPSIS
Each of the eight commercials opens with images of cars in disrepair and Rose delivering such lines as, "Everyone could use a little spring training," followed by the tag line, "Get your car to Maaco for a Maaco-ver."

BACKGROUND
After tapping Rose to speak at a franchisee convention, Maaco chairman Tony Martino enlisted the Hall of Fame pariah as the company's celebrity spokesman. (Rose thus follows in the footsteps of Charo.) Given that it's the first national endorsement for Rose since he was banned from baseball in 1989, Maaco queried its franchisees about the choice. The response was positive (although one letter did ask, "Isn't O.J. available?"). "We were looking for the hardest worker in baseball, since we're the hardest workers in auto painting," says Maaco ad exec Eileen Moran. Reached last weekend in Cooperstown, Rose said, "Corporate America's letting me back in. The Maaco door is going to open other doors."

BOTTOM LINE
How ironic that ads for slick paint jobs are so colorless. Still, if mainstream is what Charlie Hustle is shooting for, he's definitely on target.