One of Doug's fliers offered his tattooing services, which excluded names with the letter "S" because he was "not very good at those yet." A second sought an artist to help him build a portfolio for his career as a nude model. A third solicited the expertise of a Spanish speaker who could "say seductive things" to his Honduran, or possibly Guatemalan, date.
As much as DNAinfo wanted Doug to be a real-life New York eccentric, we are obliged to report that his handbills are straight out of the mind of Kent Pepper, 45, a freelance creative director who co-owns Kit's Underground Wine & Spirits in the underground shopping hub Turnstyle, which opened in the Columbus Circle subway station in April.
Pepper wanted his guerrilla advertising campaign to amuse locals and alert them to the presence of a new subterranean wine shop, he told DNAinfo. "Doug" consistently sets his rendezvous point at the store's location. His ads feature hand-drawn maps of the spot in relation to entrances to the A, B, C, D and 1 trains. Pepper estimates he has plastered about 600 copies of seven different fliers on lampposts and news racks in the neighborhood around TurnStyle.
As for his distinctive choice of all-capped typography, the ad man said he was aiming for a presentation that was legible, but "a little deranged. That’s how I imagine Ted Kaczynski would write," he continued, referring to anarchist who terrorized the U.S. in the 1980s and early '90s, otherwise known as the "Unabomber."
Pepper is so keyed into his character's voice that, when asked to imagine Doug's favorite wine or spirit, he wrote this response in an email: "I REALLY LIKE THE UNDERWOOD ROSÉ IN A CAN. IT LOOKS LIKE SODA SO MY BOSS DOESN’T GET MAD AT ME FOR DRINKING ON THE JOB LIKE HE DOES WITH WHISKY AND GIN. I SURE WISH THEY’D MAKE BACARDI 151 IN A CAN. —DOUG"
One "Doug" flier, which ultimately never saw the light of day, captured his tone a touch too authentically, in his wife Kit's opinion.
“There was one flier created based on the idea of a [Craigslist] missed connection that Kit killed because that worried her, that people would want to come meet the person," he said.
"But I really do like when someone points out that it is marketing, because I appreciate the fact that people realize what the point is. I’m not trying to trick someone into coming to Kit’s ... I just want them to enjoy having spent the time reading my message.”
At least a half dozen visitors to the Pepper's store have alluded to the ads as their inspiration for visiting, Kent Pepper said.
Reddit users had mixed feelings."Whoever does advertising for Kit's Underground Wine and Spirits is clever as f**k," one wrote.
You can see Pepper's ads below.