Ice Cream Saturday

In 1989, Michael and Meredith Miller bought the historic Fair Oaks Pharmacy and Soda Fountain in South Pasadena, California. After carefully restoring the interior and adding turn-of-the-century fixtures, the couple reopened the store, complete with a gift department containing retro memorabilia, collectibles, and toys reminiscent of its heyday. A decade later, their successful business, a 1992 Gold winner of Gifts & Dec's Merchandising Achievement Award for Store Design, was about to turn 85. The Millers decided that it was time to celebrate the history and legacy of their store.

What they came up with was a multifaceted promotional event that would generate awareness and publicity for their shop while benefiting their favorite charity, the Pasadena Humane Society. Meredith and Michael set to work planning for the Fair Oaks Pharmacy and Soda Fountain's 85th Anniversary Event & Celebrity Fundraiser, a daylong shindig that would feature celebrity soda jerks, live entertainment from Betty Boop and Marx Brothers impersonators, the burying of a time capsule, the Mobile Adopt-a-Pet Unit from the Humane Society, a rollback of ice cream prices to those circa 1915, and a 12-foot-long ice cream sundae commemorating National Ice Cream Month.

The Millers had a lot of work to do to prepare for the July 22, 2000, festivities. They worked with the South Pasadena Chamber of Commerce, city planners, the chief of police, and the city manager to coordinate the event. They also had to apply for an ordinance allowing them to partially close their street on the day of the event and get permission to drill a hole in the sidewalk near the front entrance for the time capsule. They enlisted a local actress and theater owner to convince celebrities to devote a summer Saturday to the fundraiser at no charge. The Millers also designed the giant ice cream sundae and arranged for staffers to serve it.

Meredith and Michael also made sure that the event was thoroughly promoted. They had press releases and media alerts sent to local press, and they hung posters announcing the fundraiser in the store, at the Pasadena Humane Society, and in a nearby theater. A mailer/bag stuffer announcing the event was also printed up, together with a new brochure detailing Fair Oaks Pharmacy's long history. They also prepared a special soda fountain menu listing the 1915 prices, as well as a commemorative T-shirt. Goody bags containing a T-shirt, candy, and retro toys and games were assembled for each celebrity. Finally, the Millers hired a professional photographer to document the big bash.

July 22 found the counter of the Fair Oaks Pharmacy and Soda Fountain manned by a stable of celebrities, including Wendie Malick of Just Shoot Me, Yvette Freeman of ER, Jann Carl from Entertainment Tonight, Mark Kriski of the KTLA Morning News, and Patrika Darbo, James Reynolds, and Frank Parker from Days of Our Lives. In addition to gorging themselves on 25-cent ice cream sodas from the 1915 menu, customers could choose from a variety of donation packages. These packages, ranging in price from $5 to $100, entitled customers to various sundaes and cones served by particular celebrities, along with extras like autographed photos, commemorative T-shirts, Fair Oaks Pharmacy gift certificates, and goodies from the Pasadena Humane Society. All proceeds from these packages and from normal ice cream sales, together with all of the day's receipts from the gift department, were donated to the charity.

In total, the event raised more than $2,500 for the Pasadena Humane Society, and one dog was adopted on the spot from the charity's mobile unit.

In addition to the gratification of having helped a worthy cause, the Millers reaped a good amount of publicity for their store. Five local publications, including the South Pasadena Review, ran articles about the big event. Cable TV's Soap Opera Network got wind of all the soap stars in attendance and shot footage throughout the day; this footage was later assembled into a five-minute news report.

Perhaps most importantly, the Fair Oaks Pharmacy and Soda Fountain's 85th Anniversary Event & Celebrity Fundraiser built customer awareness and goodwill. Thanks to the clever mix of attractions — stars to draw fans, charity elements to draw animal lovers and philanthropic types, ice cream treats to draw the hungry, and general historic hullabaloo to draw Saturday fun-seekers — some 2,000 people showed up over the course of the day. The Millers were thrilled with the results of their efforts. According to Michael, many customers came in later to praise the festivities. He feels that the event generated a lot of valuable publicity within the community. "It was a very successful promotion," he concluded happily.