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Click above for enlarged image. Photo illustration by Jeff Scheid and Melissa Nunnery.

Tuesday, April 16, 2002
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

AUTO ORNAMENTS: Balls are Back

Antenna toppers are experiencing a rebirth thanks to the Internet and savvy marketers

And to think it all started with a simple orange ball, used to advertise a particular brand of gasoline.

The first documented antenna ball -- that is, assuming someone actually does document these things -- was the Union 76 ball, reportedly introduced in 1967. Antenna balls were popular through the late '60s and into the '70s, but eventually went the way of the bobble-head doll. But they're back now, and bigger than ever -- literally, in some cases.

As in many things, the Internet has helped spread the craze. While the colorful little balls might be somewhat difficult to find in local stores, an online check revealed a vast variety of possibilities, and that's not even taking into account the balls offered on Internet auction sites.

There are PT Cruiser antenna balls. Pepsi antenna balls. Felix the Cat antenna balls. Herbie (remember Herbie, the talking Volkswagen?) antenna balls.

The variety of Disney-related balls in existence alone is daunting: Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Minnie the bride, Mickey the groom, Mickey the graduate, the Sorcerer's Apprentice, Donald Duck, Pluto, Goofy swinging from the antenna, Tigger swinging from the antenna, an Easter Pooh, Mike from "Monsters Inc." and the Grizzly Peak bear head from Disney's California Adventure.

It was a Disney ball, in fact, that led to the founding of one of the Internet antenna-ball companies, Coolballs (www.coolballs.com).

"I got into the business because someone stole my Mickey ball," said Lisa Sievers, company CEO and self-proclaimed "Queen of Balls."

She founded Coolballs, based in San Carlos, Calif., about three years ago, when "we and Jack in the Box were about the only ones doing antenna balls."

Ah, yes, Jack in the Box. Many people credit the fast-food company with the rebirth of the antenna ball. It might seem like the Jack ball has been around forever, but it was introduced in 1995 as an outgrowth of the company's former jack-in-the-box clown symbol, said Kathleen Finn, manager of corporate communications for Jack in the Box.

"Jack was always part of the speaker box -- not the Jack you know today," Finn said.

Actually, Jack's not the antenna ball. Jack is the fictional founder and CEO.

The antenna balls are, Finn said with a straight face, "his sales force" for the Sourdough Jack sandwich.

And what a sales force. Finn said those Jack antenna balls number 17 million and counting.

She estimates they've been made in 15 different styles. They include the classic Jack, of course. A holiday Jack. Millennium Jack. And now, to be introduced in May, nine Major League Baseball Jacks, representing teams that play in markets where Jack in the Box has restaurants and available only in those markets.

The baseball Jacks wear batting helmets in each team's colors, emblazoned with its logo, and have little pink balls for mouths so it looks like they're blowing bubble-gum bubbles.

The Jack character has proven immensely popular for Jack in the Box -- so much so that he stars in its commercials and has his own area, Jack's World, on the company Web site, which includes photos of Jack with some of his fans. Some of them probably are from Jack antenna ball collectors.

"If you look on eBay, there's actually a fairly active Jack in the Box antenna ball market going on," Finn said, adding that an anniversary ball, distributed only to Jack in the Box employees, also has found its way to the auction site.

None of which is likely to surprise Sievers.

"When people buy, they generally buy one of everything that we have," she said.

Coolballs' corporate symbol is a ball with sunglasses, which has expanded into numerous permutations, including a New York City firefighter in commemoration of Sept. 11. Some 70 designs are available online, with more than 100 designs copyrighted, Sievers said.

Coolballs are emblazoned with the company's Web address to help reduce the problem of antenna-ball theft.

Coolballs are available at some retailers nationwide, Sievers said, but its Internet business is big. Before Christmas, the Web site was getting 125,000 hits a month. Currently, it's getting about 100,000 hits a month.

And Sievers has found that lots of customers like to have their photos, complete with antenna balls, on the company's site.

"We have more guys sending the photos than the gals," she said, most of them in the 15-to-20 age range. She said one Colorado customer sent a photo of his Coolball and himself -- on his motorcycle, complete with leathers -- several times before she finally posted it.

She thinks antenna balls are an attempt at establishing identity.

"I think we want to be our own people and individualize, personalize our vehicles," Sievers said.

Nannette Turner, who operates the Web company Happyballs.Com, based in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., said people like antenna balls "because they're fun. It adds personality to their car. That sounds silly, but you'd be surprised."

The balls also work as car-finding aids.

"When they get in a parking lot, because there's so many Suburbans, having that little ball helps them find their car," Turner said.

Happyballs.com (which also can be reached toll-free at 866-766-1455) sells mostly balls from the wholesaler Antennaballs.com. But Turner said they're always on the lookout for unique balls, such as the Ivar's Clam (from a Northwest restaurant chain), as well as In-N-Out Burger and Hot Dog on a Stick antenna toppers.

Business has been good, Turner said.

Antenna balls "haven't been available; we haven't seen any for years," she said. "Then all of a sudden, you see cars with them.

"I think they're getting more and more popular. I think it's word of mouth. For every one of our customers, they tell 10 friends.

"It's like Amway; all you need are 10 friends."