I drove by a car dealership near my loft recently, and was somewhat perplexed to find two camels standing at the front entrance near the street.
They seemed distinctly out of place on in South Austin on a Sunday afternoon. But then my mind shifted to wondering why the dealership felt that paying money to hire two exotic camels was going to boost their sales? 
Why indeed.
I can't imagine that a pair of camels would cause anybody who was driving around for lunch or errands to suddenly brake, bolt from their car and declare that "Although I had planned to go to Home Depot today, those hairy beasts are now compelling me to buy a car from you. Right bloody now!"
These kinds of things don't happen. At least, I tend to doubt it.
Maybe if I had small children, and they happened to see the camels, the little people would demand, cry and yell unless I stopped for a closer look. My response to this plea might have been "those aren't camels, those are two hairy guys with bad posture. Now let's keep it quiet in the backseat and sit up straight unless you want to end up like those poor bastards."
Obviously, I do not have children.
The only reasonable marketing explanation I venture from the camel show was that the dealership hoped that the pseudo-petting zoo would stand out enough that you would remember them fondly when you ultimately chose to buy a vehicle. That seems like a stretch to me as I still couldn't tell you the name of the dealership.
However, I do know that the car lot exists, and I suppose that has a lot to do with the presence of the camels. It will also help their case when I develop the pictures I took riding the camels in a heated race down South Congress Avenue.
-BDS
Other Possible Explanations
- Its their way of saying that their cars can travel great distances without refueling, much like camels, apparently can travel great distances without having to drink.
- "I'll club a seal to make a better deal!" Maybe the fear of the dealer mistreating the camel would be enough to sell cars to people who aren't Satan. By threatening to hurt the animals if a car isn't sold, somebody might suck it up and take one for the team and buy a car to save the camels from abuse.
Camels to sell cars, huh ? I just can't figure that one out either. The appeal could only diminish as the beasts bowels begin to loosen....
I thought EVERYONE knew that large breasted bikini clad women on showcase sell EVERYTHING. What are these people thinkin' ??
I'm just giggling at some imagery of you with a couple of little kids in the backseat screaming "Daddy, daddy, we want a CAMEL RIDE!!!" over and over. haha
Camels. Ah, yes, that's the first thing I think of when I'm looking for a new vehicle. Camels can make you forget a snarky salesman, five years of car payments, an extended warranty you'll never need and a freezing cold showroom that's set at 50 degrees to intimidate you into buying their overpriced car just so you can get outside and warm up. Yes, indeedy, it all makes me yearn for the comforting smell and unpredictable salivary glands of nature's water tank, The Camel.
It's better than the HUGE blow up Gorilla that's on top of the dealership I drive by everyday.
And I have to say... those camels?.... they made you look, didn't they?
WhatIgot - That is a great "UHF" quote. I still use the baby seal line in certain contexts. And your camel/fuel theory is also very solid, but probably far more advanced than the car lot owners intentions.
Heff - They do sell pretty much anything. The commonality - both have a couple of good humps.
Jlee - I don't find that imagery funny at all. Ha. Besides, I have my response to that as I noted in the post. Distraction.
Wendy - Ha. You should write copy for car dealerships as that's about the best passage I've seen regarding how cars are bought & sold. Also, the "unpredictable salivary glands" was dead-on accurate too as camels are generally filthy beasts.
Anonymous Boxer - I almost mentioned those huge blow-up gorrillas in this post, but got lazy and/or time constrained. I don't think the gorrillas or the camels are that effective unless you judge it by simply looking in that direction (which I obviously did). But I have no plans to buy a car there in the future, so . . .
I'm so glad you got that joke.
what's really funny is you are the second person with a camel story for me today.
if camels were numbers i would play the lottery
I would be less likely to buy a car from a dealership that had poor camels standing outside.....and by less likely I mean I would never ever buy from such a place. Heck, I won't even go to the zoo.
WhatIgot - I was just talking about "Conan the Librarian" and "Wheel of Fish" the other day.
Cats - Now that's strange indeed. It's too bad this camel thing doesn't translate to the lottery, but if you hear/see another one, then buy a ticket because 3 is a lucky number - even in camels.
Miss Ash - I forgot that you probably would come down harshly in favor of the animals. Ha. But yes, in this case it doesn't seem very nice to the camels to have them standing around in a small space. I'm a little more neutral on zoos.
I traded a few goats for a truck once. Maybe someone was trying to do the same with the camels.
well it got you to look and blog about it, but yeah....that is weird.
I love whatigotsofars explanations!!!
idobcool - That's probably a good story, but the question in my mind is how long did the truck run & do you still have it? Regardless, that's a pretty good barter system.
Vivavavoom - His rationale was pretty damn good, but probably far better than their thinking. And I might have noticed it, but I still have no plans to ever buy a car from the dealership, so . . . I still think it was a waste of money. Ha.
camels? How odd. Maybe they're renovating to a more middle-eastern feel. Let me know if you see any flying carpets for sale there
I'll send word north ONLY after I buy a few for myself as a flying carpet would be great. You'd be above the law, so to speak.