We get a lot of e-mails telling us about stories we should write. A third of them are from crazy people. (Jerry, we're sure the government wants to steal your amazing Sonata because it's so pimp.) Another third are serious, and a final third we don't know what to do with. But we're not sure which category Michael Quijas falls into.
Quijas is the owner and president of InAd TV in Lee's Summit. The Lee's Summit Journal recently did a story on his daughter's successful struggle with leukemia, which inspired Quijas to become an advocate and start 10 Kids Insured, a charity for uninsured families. So far, so good.
But there's more. All those awesome charitable endeavors are supported by Quijas's ability to keep you entertained in the bathroom. Quija's e-mail says his company is responsible for installing digital TVs in "KC's top restaurants and nightclubs." He continues: "I created a unique business that gives kids and families peace of mind by way of the shitter!" He adds that any media exposure helps him advocate for sick kids at Children's Mercy Hospital.
Quijas' Web site says he installs his toilet TVs in ladies' room mirrors and just above urinals in men's rooms, though we have to wonder why he doesn't include them on the inside of the stall door for those moments when you're most captive. We're also concerned about how the proliferation of televised entertainment while you've got your junk in your hand could affect social mores. We don't even particularly like it when the urinals don't have dividers. Isn't it likely there'll be some program on you don't feel comfortable watching while you're doing your business? Would there be long lines at the CNN urinal while the VH1 porcelain goes unmanned? Vice-versa?
His site promises that TV attire is the future because it's no longer enough that 90 percent of us are already walking billboards for some corporation. We're 10 years away from tiny plasma TVs being tattooed inside our eyelids so they can pipe Miller Chill commercials directly into the cortex as soon as we hit our REM sleep cycle.
This is a blessed age.
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Michael Quijs keep up the great work! I am curious if the author of this blog, or the other nay sayers actually take the time to do positive things in the community. Attending company functions like Artopia doesn't count Peter "Dick" Rugg. Taking the initiative to do something positive in the community takes a lot of time and work and I applaude you for taking that time to do something great for the kids of Kansas City. I bet not one of these people has ever set out to do something as great as you because they don't have the time because they'd rather sit back and criticize others who try to help people in need. Also I want to say thank you for all the cars you've donated to families at Children's Mercy and other sick kids and their families across the city, who otherwise would be walking or taking a bus to their appointments. The Pitch will be out of business in just a matter of years because digital will take over print and there's a good chance this knuckle head blog writer will come crawling to you for a job! Shame on you Peter Rugg, if you only knew what this man has done for other families, just like mine, when he had battles of his own at home with a sick child diagnosed with leukemia.
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I'd like to have one installed in my living room. Got any good deals on like a 60+ in. plasma?
Just because the money goes to charity doesn't mean it's a good idea. Let's make a simple extrapolation. I like to go from house to house and rob then I give some of it to kids with AIDS. Now, I'm a non-profit so I probably take a salary for myself and my family, but nevermind that. The important thing is that these poor AIDS kids get the charity they need.
And his justification that we're already subjected to billboards is hideous logic. Hey Johnny, I see you're being raped by your dad. Well I stopped by with your uncle and cousins since someone already had a dick jammed in you.
What in the hell are you people thinking?
There are so many advertising businesses struggling as more and more companies are dissolving so I commend the creative, thinking outside the box style of advertising,Mike Quijas has invented. It definately adds a nice touch to the bathrooms I have visited that have them behind the vanity mirrors. If this is helping out a worthy cause I would like to do business with InAd Tv. Maybe if all of us small businesses work together to get out of the mess the so-called finance experts got us into, and help others at the same time, we can get back to what made this great country!
I am a business owner who has used the bathroom advertising for the last 7 months. We have found it to create an amazing amount of branding for our company. Our customers tell us all the time that they saw down our ad in the bathroom. As a daily reader of the pitch, I was very interested in the article but was disappointed by it.
To "Less Douchey":
Sounds like you are not only jealous of his business, but maybe jealous while you are holding your own at the urinal. I say if you can make money legally and give it to any charity - it's a great and noble thing.
Wow! looks like you are doing great things!! I'm so excited for you keep up the good work and good luck in everything you set out to do!
wow.. looks like you are doing great things! I'm very excited for you keep up the good work!!
I just read this article and then went to the bathroom and was thinking.....
That is just creative, thinking outside the box, so smart! Admit it, how many times have we all used those old bathrooms and you sit or stand and read the walls....."Joey was here.... Kathy and Jim 4-ever..... for a good time call 555-8724..... jack is a c**k s**cker..."
SMART!!!!!
Wish I had thought of it but I was too busy reading the walls and sounds like you was too busy peeking in on other stalls!!!!! lol
Personaly, I say use whatever outlet and talent that is not harmful to yourself or another. If proceeds from urinal ads can help financially with making ends meet for your family and if you can assist others in doing so, go for it. Old worn out posters and ads taped on restrooms look unprofessional.
We have the highest unemployment rate in 16 years. Many individuals are grasping at straws to make ends meet just to pay their bills. What if you or any member of your family becomes ill, whether it be a terminal illness or as simple as an ear infection and you do not have insurance or a job? I applaud anyone who has the ability and drive to provide for their family and assist others with their financial needs.
Business owners are buying them and consumers are talking about them, hence this article. If you are concerned about dividers or the business ad playing then simply keep your eyes to your personal area, as I hope you are currently doing while using the urinal.
I personally became educated about In Ad TV from an article on KansasCity.com written by Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell, special to The Star. If I may enlighted your readers with a bit more information.......
Business
Posted on Mon, Feb. 11, 2008 10:15 PM
STARTUP: Going where clients go
�Believe in yourself. Take each mistake as a lesson,� says Michael Quijas, who a few years ago started In Ad TV, a company that uses TV screens in restrooms for advertising.
Business: In Ad TV, 1308 N.E. Windsor Drive, Lee�s Summit; 877-446-2388; www.inadtv.com
About the business: The company, which has five employees, installs TVs above urinals in men�s restrooms and in vanity mirrors of women�s restrooms in restaurants. The channel plays advertisements along with the restaurant menu, specials and events. About 100 LCD screens are in operation across the area.
Owners: Michael Quijas and Zach Lund
Owners� roles: �My responsibilities have me overseeing new construction, sales and research and development,� Quijas said. �Zach helps facilitate a smooth-running back office, takes care of the financials of the company and helps plan the strategy.�
How long did it take you to start your business:
�I started my business in April 2005. It was called In Ad Advertising. My business was putting plastic billboards on grocery carts. I sat for weeks waiting for the green light from a grocery store chain. My downtime felt like an eternity. So I started exploring new ideas and came up with the TV idea. I shifted gears (that fall) and put the grocery cart project on the back burner.
�I realized that restaurant owners were more likely to let me install digital screens in their restrooms compared to the old worn-out poster boards that indoor billboard companies commonly use. I found a new business off the old business. Fuel American Made Bar & Grill and Raoul�s Velvet Room at 119th and Metcalf (in Overland Park) were the first two restaurants to participate.�
How did you come up with this idea?
�I was involved in the indoor advertising industry in San Diego. This is where a company puts a sign on the back of a restroom stall door or above the urinals.
�When I was at Best Buy one afternoon, I was observing all the TVs on display when something hit me. The screens all had the same thing playing. This piqued my curiosity. So I asked the clerk how something like this is made possible. The clerk took me to the video switch and showed me how it all worked. That was the afternoon that my wheels started turning.�
What challenges have you faced?
�The sacrifice my family made for this dream was substantial. We couldn�t always afford to do the things that other families were doing. I�m embarrassed, but my health insurance lapsed more than a couple of times for lack of payment. Two months after re-enrolling, my 14-year-old daughter was diagnosed with leukemia.
�Appointments, sales and deadlines totally got lost. They didn�t matter. But the bills would continue to come. I knew I had to come up with a system that could have me juggle my day shift at Children�s Mercy Hospital with my daughter and somehow include time for business. My wife did nights at CMH, and I took over the days. I set up an office out of CMH. I worked in the room, in the hall, in the cafeteria. This helped me get back into the swing of things without leaving the most important girl in my life alone.�
How did this challenge affect you and your business?
�It has given me great appreciation for people, families and life. I am more aware of the fact that I have no idea what anyone is going through. I don�t know if someone is crashing financially; I don�t know if the guy driving slowly is on his way to sit next to his sick kid. All I know is that business and personal matters do connect. If you are lacking on the business side, it can affect your family. If you are unhappy at home, it can affect your work.�
What advice would you give to someone starting a business?
�Believe in yourself. Take each mistake as a lesson. Remember that the road will curve from time to time, and it can also get bumpy. I have learned that each obstacle or adverse situation has made me grow and has delivered me to where I am.�
Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell, special to The Star
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