Today, I’m going to talk about one of my earliest childhood lessons in the advertising field: gorilla marketing.‚ Literally, gorilla marketing… you thought I misspelled guerrilla marketing didn’t you?
Ivan the Gorilla lived for 27 years in the now shut down B & I Shopping Mall in Tacoma, WA.‚ I remember visiting the mall and watching Ivan the Gorilla in his enclosure.‚ The B & I Shopping Mall had brought Ivan in and kept him for 27 years in a concrete enclosure inside their retail area where people could watch him as they purchased goods.
Displaying Ivan the Gorilla was a smart marketing stunt- as a kid I loved to go visit him and watch the huge silverback amble around and look at the visitors.‚ Unfortunately, it was not such a great thing for Ivan and after being sued, Ivan the Gorilla was sent to a much better atmosphere at a zoo in Atlanta.
Below is a picture of Ivan the Gorilla in his original enclosure at the B&I Shopping Mall in Tacoma:
A more recent picture of Ivan the Gorilla in his new home at Zoo Atlanta:
I’m glad that Ivan the Gorilla has a happy retirement home in Zoo Atlanta after serving for 27 years as an unwilling retail salesman!
sorry joel,
i visited ivan a few months back. he is now in a much better place gorilla heaven. yes, he is dead. but the b&i will live on forever in the hearts of many!
Grim
Ivan is alive and well at Zoo Atlanta.
Yes, Ivan is very much alive and kicking/banging on doors…
http://www.zooatlanta.org/animals_gorilla.htm
B&I never shut down – just new owners, same scumbag stuff, just without the gorilla.
The B&I is still open. And as far as i know they were never sued. A grouo called paws rallied for his release for over seven years. Finally they won the rally and Ivan was gifted to a zoo by the owner.