Tag Archives: Dancing Man

Dancing Man in Belfair

Posted on April 11, 2014 | 1 comment

The parts come with a great guarantee.


The dancing man phenomenon has spread to Belfair. Local Wrench auto repair, located at 23530 NE State Route 3, just added one of the quirky inflatables to advertise that they use genuine ACDelco parts. Local Wrench provides auto repairs and services for all makes of foreign and domestic cars and trucks. So, along with the General (GM), perhaps auto makers everywhere are dancing for joy.

I’m not an expert on dancing men, despite numerous previous posts about them, but this one looked new when I stopped for a photo this afternoon. It could be his first week on the job.

1 Comment

Posted in Business Beat, Other Local Places

Tagged ,

Dancing Tax Man

Posted on February 20, 2014 | 2 comments

A dancing Uncle Sam


It’s tax season. In case anyone didn’t know that, a few weeks ago Liberty Tax Service on Kitsap Way stationed an employee out front who waves a sign urging people to come in and get their taxes done. Dressed as the Statue of Liberty, he’s there rain or shine and never seems to tire. Apparently more street-level advertising was needed though, as today they added a dancing tax man (see photo). I like the patriotic look, but I hope the new dancer doesn’t replace the real person. Although the photo doesn’t show it, the inflatable is unusual in that it has two blowers—one for each leg.

The Mud Bay blog can’t resist adding a post every time a new dancing man is spotted in the area. Previously I have run photos of dancing men in Silverdale, Port Orchard, and various locations on Kitsap Way. Where is the next one going to show up?

2 Comments

Posted in Business Beat, Other Local Places

Tagged ,

Dancing Man in Port Orchard

Posted on May 11, 2012 | 2 comments

Where’s your smart phone?


Readers of the Mud Bay blog know I can’t resist stopping to take a picture whenever I see a dancing man in Kitsap County. Clearly I haven’t found all of them. I spotted a new one today during a rare weekday trip to Port Orchard. The dancing man outside Talk’s Cheap on Bay Street (see photo) might have been jumping for joy for months about the store being an authorized Verizon retailer. I wouldn’t know. I only pass through the county seat on Sundays on my way to Annapolis, where I park and ride my bike along Beach Drive.

2 Comments

Posted in Business Beat, Other Local Places

Tagged ,

Dancing Man in Silverdale

Posted on February 20, 2012 | 3 comments

Just in time for President’s Day


First Silverdale took much of Bremerton’s retail business away. Now they are copying our advertising ideas. Today I noticed a new dancing man (see photo) boogying for business in front of Mattress Depot on Silverdale Way across from Arby’s. Judging by the dancing man’s enthusiastic moves and the like-new condition of his svelte balloon body, I don’t think he’s been on the job for long.

Silverdale is by far the biggest retail center in Kitsap County. And it’s growing. But a business needs to do more than just open its doors there to make money. With at least three other mattress stores in Silverdale—one of which advertises itself with a giant cow—Mattress Depot has plenty of competition. Plus it’s in a retail sector where success is based almost entirely on marketing. The dancing man is going to attract the attention of some passing motorists. Whether they will return later for a mattress upgrade is another question.

For the record I bought my last new mattress at Arnold’s Home Furnishings in Bremerton. A dancing man was not involved. You would probably see the pope in a tank top before you saw a dancing man at Arnold’s.

3 Comments

Posted in Business Beat, Other Local Places

Tagged ,

More Dancing Men

Posted on October 24, 2011 | 4 comments

That's me on the left.


What’s up with West Bremerton and dancing men? Along a 1.5-mile stretch of Kitsap Way/6th Street, there are four of the quirky inflatables. Statistically this is off the charts (I think). The local business district might be the state epicenter for deployed balloon advertising. In Great Minds Think Alike I showed a picture of the Jiffy Lube and Blockbuster Video entries. A better title might have been “Herd Instinct.” Did all four businesses hit on the dancing-man idea independently or is there a bit of copycat go-go going on here?

To correct the photo caption, that’s not really me on the roof of the Mid-Town Market. I do support free ATMs though. And free debit-card transactions (although Mid-Town probably doesn’t have them). Certainly both are worth dancing about. As for the Pep Boys figure, maybe he’s just happy because of his name.

4 Comments

Posted in Business Beat, Other Local Places

Tagged ,

Great Minds Think Alike

Posted on October 5, 2011 | 2 comments

Cheaper than paying minimum wage


What do the Jiffy Lube and Blockbuster Video franchise stores on Kitsap Way have in common? One similarity is that both are using an inflatable dancing man (see photo) in an attempt to attract customers. I have no idea if this advertising technique boosts sales although it did make me take notice. Plus it’s cheaper than posting a sign-waving minimum-wage employee out front like some mattress stores do and a bargain when compared to investing in a top-shelf LED message center.

There’s more information about these so-called dancing balloons at web sites like ArizonaBalloon.com, which also refers to them as wind dancers. Despite the latter name, the web site advises that they work a lot better indoors where wind and sun aren’t factors. That’s because the balloons can spend more time on the ground than dancing on a breezy day and the light spinnaker material they are made of doesn’t last long in strong sunlight. There’s a tradeoff though. If you want motorists on Kitsap Way to notice your business, they have to dance outdoors.

2 Comments

Posted in Business Beat

Tagged