Beginning early this morning pedestrians passing by Greeley Square in Manhattan were slightly confused by the line forming in front of Horace Greeley’s statue. The line extends from half-way between 31st and 32nd streets, snaking up to 34th. But what could be the cause? One needed only look around to see hordes of signage pointing to the answer. USA’s summer doc show, Royal Pains, Lacoste and Doctors Without Borders.
The event was coordinated by USA’s in-house PR team, with a production company’s help building some on-site signs and structures. Interestingly, as I stood there I felt assured that this was an advertising thing. Alas, it was PR. Whatever the case, on of the two women standing in front of me declared to her friend, “Well, I would never have thought to watch the show, but after this I will.” And that was a good 25 minutes (in the afternoon heat) before we reached the payoff.
Oh, the payoff. For donating a slightly-worn shirt, participants received a $50 gift card to Lacoste, a $10 donation in their name to Doctors Without Borders and a one-way subway card with directions to New York’s Lacoste stores. Also included were pedi-cabs (adorned with Royal Pains ads, of course), which would deliver participants to nearby Lacoste stores free of charge.
The show, in its second season, airs tonight at 10pm EST on USA. The event runs until 6pm.
More: “Study Finds Ads Make TV Shows More Interesting…Riiight”