Furniture Today
May 24, 1999
By Clint Engel

NEW YORK - Basics Furniture, a small store here with big ideas on promotion, took home three honors from the Advertising Women of New York's "Best of New York" American Advertising Awards program.

The retailer, through its ad agency STAIN nyc, won two awards for a campaign that involved placing quarters in high traffic areas around the city.

People picking up the change found a decal on the tail side that included the basics logo, telephone number and the message: "hi thrifty, we've got your furniture."

STAIN and basics (which doesn't capitalize it's name) also won a citation for packaging design for a shopping bag which says on one side, "this is a shameless moving billboard for basics furniture," and offers instructions for use on the other.

The "thrifty" quarter campaign will be entered in the American Federation's national Addy awards competition in June.

The entire campaign cost less that $1,000, said Adam Levine, who co-owns the 4,000-square foot Manhattan store with his father, Harvey Levine. Basics planted about 1,000 quarters on the sidewalk near the store, in telephone booths, cabs, subway stations - anyplace that potential customers might spy some loose change.

"I've left it in some of my competitors' sofa cushions," Levine said.

He said it's difficult to judge the business impact of the promotion, but he believes it's the kind of unusual and fun type of non-price promoting that the industry sorely needs.

This isn't the first time basics and STAIN have been honored for an unusual approach. Last year, the two took a third place America Athena Award presented by the Newspaper Assn. of America for another campaign revolving around the phase, "A cheap chair, for your cheap ass."

That campaign was so popular that basics turned it into a slogan.

It has appeared on off-Broadway handbills and on bicycles operated by a New York courier service.
Recently, the slogan was wrapped in the form of a giant decal around the delivery van. On top of the van, the decal features the image of two people sprawled face down as if they have fallen out of a 12-story window, plus the words, "basics furniture, come and get it."

"It's scary," Levine said.
Basics has also developed a line of clothing, including a T-shirt featuring the cheap chair slogan, boxer shorts that say "basics furniture loves my cheap ass," and another shirt promoting basics' Internet plans: "basics furniture.com.ing soon."

The next big splash? Levine calls it operation cheese chair. Details are sketchy, but it involves a local artist and his work of art: an old recliner covered in melted cheese.

"You think it would smell, but it doesn't," Levine said. "It turns into concrete."

He plans to display the chair in basics' front window and throw a wine and cheese party.