THE CREATIVITY ISSUE: B2 Advertising

Agency: B2 Advertising

Client: Naples Lumber and Supply

Market: Naples

When Naples Lumber and Supply started diversifying into windows, doors and hardware, it needed to get the message out that it was more than just a lumber company.

Even a decade after they were created, many people still remember the Naples Lumber ads that B2 Advertising designed. One ad featured a beautiful woman dressed with hardware from Naples Lumber while another more risque ad featured a partially clothed couple in bed with a message about the necessity for quality doors and locks.

The cutting-edge campaign caused a buzz in conservative Naples. “It caused such a stir that the Naples Daily News did a column,” recalls Robyn Bonaquist, the founder and president of B2.

Bonaquist even got a call from a women's shelter worried that a hammer with the logo above the model's head in one of the ads might be construed to promote violence against women.

But the campaign worked exactly as it intended, contributing to a double-digit annual percentage increase in business at Naples Lumber. “People forever had known Naples Lumber as a company that sold roof trusses,” says Bonaquist. “We positioned not only the new lines, but also the company as a whole.”

Naples Lumber sales boomed. “At a time when other businesses were losing market share, he gained,” Bonaquist says. “We played a part in that.”

Still, Bonaquist says few clients are willing to take a chance on bold advertising like Naples Lumber. “They're afraid to be different,” she says. She adds with a laugh: “So many folks out there are frustrated art directors.”

Bonaquist says she and former business partner Burl Seslar presented two ad campaigns to Ron Labbe, the owner of Naples. One was a traditional campaign that showed a beautiful house with a fancy door and the other was the edgier campaign featuring beautiful models.

“That girl wasn't even a professional model,” Bonaquist says. “We discovered her in a coffee shop.”

Follow Jean Gruss on Twitter @JeanGruss

More work from B2 Advertising's Naples Lumber and Supply Campaign: