Equipped with a few cases of coconut milk and a half dozen jars of jelly beans, Max hit the road today on a “What’s Your Home Worth?” awareness campaign.
Max has been raising his profile as part of a continuing series of “Plan B” responses to the Cars.com Superbowl ads back in January.
Since the Superbowl, Max has been seen with increasing frequency on ActiveRain, Inman News, Sellsius Blog and Yahoo! Real Estate.
“We definitely want to emphasize the “Max Factor” in our marketing,” said Louis Cammarosano, General Manager of HomeGain.
“When Jessica Gopalakrishnan, our Senior Marketing Manager, came up with the idea of sending Max on the road I was hesitant. I know Max, he is a proud gorilla. I was concerned that Max would hijack one or both of the cars and head straight to Chicago to settle the score with his Cars.com rivals. I’ve given him strict instructions to stay out of Chicago and Cars.com affiliate markets. He may, however head to Seattle in the near future to check up on Zillow.”
“Driving Mr. Max is a pleasure,” said Hoke Willoz, Max’s personal driver. “He gets a little testy if you don’t warm his coconut milk just right, but the people love him.”
Costs for the Max Mobiles are said to be exorbitant. Expenses for this campaign may top $900.
It was reported that HomeGain was looking to defer the costs of Max’s road trips by taking on sponsorships. Talks broke down between HomeGain and RSS Pieces late last week.
Mary McKnight, Chief Marketing Officer at RSS Pieces was pitching a “Losers eat jelly beans – Winners go with RSS pieces” campaign. When Max heard of the potential RSSP sponsorship he threatened to stay at home. “I won’t get in any car that has anything to do with M&Ms or anything like that.”
Sources indicate that Max will continue to maintain a high profile.
“There will be “Plan C” if necessary,” vowed max. “I have forgiven but not forgotten.”
Follow Max!
I see a movie in the making. Max in the Mist – An epic tale staring Max Homegain, a Gorilla turned Zillowologist who sets out across America to study the endangered Realtor species. Watch how he fights for their survival to bring them back from the brink of lead gen extinction.
Good luck on the tour. And Max, you better take this seriously. No monkeying around, ya hear.
April 14th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
Louis,
If Max makes his way to Seattle, you have got to let me know. I would love to host him at the ActiveRain office for some photo ops. (not to pigeon hole him, but we have bananas galore and I’ll send someone for coconut milk)
April 14th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Road trips are the best.
http://www.blogtourusa.com/
April 14th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Max would definitely find himself quite at home in the Active Rain Forest.
April 14th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
Mary
I am sure you are a woman of considerable experience and know many facts.
But certainly life is not all about nutrition.
You have not lived until you have laid down in the forest under the stars with your favorite gorilla with a cup of warm coconut milk and sack of jelly beans.
That is a fact that not everyone knows.
April 15th, 2008 at 6:30 am
Oh MAX, it’s a simple fact, Jelly Beans simply don’t have as much nutritional value as RSS Pieces. Everyone knows blogs are full of protein. What do jelly beans have?
April 15th, 2008 at 6:01 am
Bob
Thanks for the invite. I am sure Max will take you up on it.
Louis
P.S.
Max is “not big on bananas”
See the last question Nicole asked Max in her interview with him last month. http://blog.homegain.com/nicole-nicolay-day-with-max-homegain-gorilla
April 15th, 2008 at 7:38 am
I hope this rock star status doesn’t change him. These are some heady times for him.
April 16th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Max, if you come to Morristown New Jersey, let me know. I love guys with hairy chests.
April 16th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
Sue
My new position at HomeGain permits me a healthy travel schedule. I have never been to New Jersey or New York. Would love to stop by and see you and the Empire State building. I will let you know when I can make it.
April 17th, 2008 at 7:22 am
Max on 1000Watt Blog
http://www.1000wattblog.com/2008/04/a-gorilla-in-re.html
April 21st, 2008 at 7:40 pm
Heard Alex talking about Max, I dont own a home but i really want a gorilla, he is so cute
April 10th, 2009 at 11:34 am