A 12-foot-tall cartoon king appeared a little more than a month ago on a billboard looming over 49th Street South. His bejeweled crown and red beard framed a friendly smile. "How Ya Doin?" he called out. And that was all.

Befuddled business owners had no clue what the billboard meant.

Then the king changed his message. "Will you tickle me?"

And he introduced himself: "My Friends Call Me The RENT KING."

Few people standing across the street from the billboard on a recent Saturday afternoon were ready to entertain the king's suggestion. Reactions ranged from literal to imaginative.

"If you tickle him, you'll make him happy and you'll rent from him," said Tom Block, 48.

"I think it's like a call-girl type thing, but like a call guy," said Helena Josephs. "It seems if you want to tickle him, you call him up and it's like you're renting the king for the night."

Gwen Carruthers, 51, had a strong reaction. "No way, I won't tickle you, man."

So who is this Rent King? And why does he want to be tickled?

Looking for a mascot

Chris Kale wants the Rent King mascot to do for his rent-to-own stores what the talking gecko did for Geico. Whether you think the king is clever or stupid, at least you'll know who he is.

"What we're trying to do is simply brand," said Kale, 45, the co-owner of Rent King. "We want to get your brain going 'What's that all about?' "

The Rent King chain recently celebrated its 10th anniversary in the Tampa Bay area. The business now has 24 stores and it stocks over 10,000 items, from furniture to appliances to electronics to computers.

The market for rent-to-own products targets mainly low- to middle-income families who desire household goods but can't or won't buy on credit. Locally, Rent King competes with a national chain Rent-A-Center, the largest rent-to-own company, and Buddy's Home Furnishings, which has hawked its wares through both a mascot named Buddy Bi-Rite and Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Derrick Brooks.

Searching for something different, Kale decided to take a risk.

"There's certainly some doubt about spending $100,000 a year on billboards without knowing if you're going to get any return on it," Kale said.

The man behind the king

After years of just flier and radio campaigns, Kale turned to a familiar face to launch his outdoor advertising plan. Mike Barbaro, 29, is an account executive at Clear Channel Outdoor. Kale and Barbaro had worked together on the Rent King's set of successful radio spots.

"Mike is trained in this stuff," Kale said. "He knows this business and is younger than I am, so he's more in touch with what young people want."

Barbaro pitched the strategy-known as a tease and reveal-to Kale, who agreed, despite his reservations, and the concerns of those closest to him.

"My girlfriend called me an idiot for not putting anything about (the store) on the billboard," Kale said. "I just kind of laughed and said, 'Maybe you're right.' "

Born in a suburb of Washington, D.C., Barbaro graduated from Maryland's Towson University in the mid 1990s. He worked in radio sales in Baltimore before moving to St. Petersburg almost four years ago. He joined Clear Channel Outdoor in February.

Barbaro's Web site, MikeBarbaro.com, pays homage to all things Mike Barbaro. On the site, more than 1,500 pictures of Barbaro and his friends and relatives are available spanning from Barbaro's baby photos to him arm-in-arm with rapper Ludacris to his wife's pregnant belly.

Those in the market for clothing can purchase Barbaro's face on MikeBarbaro.com T-shirts, bibs and thong underwear.

"You always have to market yourself," Barbaro said. "That's not a bad thing. That's what makes advertising people step out from behind the scene where they need to be. I sell my ideas, so it makes sense that I'm selling myself as well."

Barbara Barbaro says her husband's creativity spills over to their home life.

"My friends and family say, 'Your husband's nuts. He's crazy. But it's awesome,' " said Barbara, a speech pathologist. "With the way he is, he's able to keep us close to everyone that's been in our lives."

The Web site has become a showcase for their newborn son, Gavin. Barbaro recently uploaded pictures from the delivery room.

In additions to the 49th Street site, the Rent King appears on 20 other billboards throughout Tampa Bay. Barbaro's plan is to bring the Rent King to life by changing the billboards each month for at least a year. His next design directs people to the Rent King's MySpace.com page. Those interested can then learn the king's favorite bands, movies and his zodiac sign.

Across the country, outdoor advertisers like Barbaro are under pressure. Stand out in a world saturated with information, but not so much that you make people mad.

Barbaro's marketing strategy is an attempt to rise above the cluttered landscape.

"All rent-to-own companies do the same thing, so we're just trying to create a buzz about this inanimate object we have here," Barbaro said.

The King's message

It's not clear if the Rent King is doing his job yet. Most of the people interviewed around the 49th Street billboard on Saturday said that despite passing the sign many times, they didn't notice the bright cartoon until it was pointed out to them.

"That's a good catch phrase," said Tyrone Jordan, 38, referring to the tickling suggestion. "It's cool. Rent-A-Center don't got nothing like that."

Sitting in their car across the street from the billboard, Lisa Washington, 40, and Tiki Warren, 38, disagreed.

"Whoever the Rent King is, he wants to remain anonymous," Washington said.

"Whoever the advertiser is, maybe he needs to take a crash course in Advertising 101," Warren said.
 
Next month, Barbaro will give the Rent King a new message. Kale will wait for the new customers he hopes the advertising campaign will create. And the Rent King will hover above the streets of St. Petersburg, waiting to be tickled.

Interested in more? Click here to see the design project "My friends call me the Rent King," or click here to see the multimedia project "The messages of 34th street."

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