MADISON, Ind. — Vehicle Service Group's Rotary-brand business is resurrecting Rotary Jack, its 1940s-era mascot, to represent the brand as it broadens its Rotary-brand vehicle lift product portfolio with wheel service equipment.
Rotary Jack — with the pinstriped coveralls, bow tie and peaked cap mechanics wore in the 1940s — was used at that time in literature, ads and other print applications to point out all of the features of the Rotary Lift product line.
According to Rotary, he embodied product excellence, value and experience, qualities the brand pitches as still representative today.
"Digging through the archives to do a Rotary pictorial history for the website, the marketing team ran across Rotary Jack and just fell in love with him," said David Fischmer, director of marketing for VSG, Rotary's parent company.
"Like the Rotary products he represents, Jack has stood the test of time. Everything he represented back then is still who we are today, so we are dusting off the character a little bit and bringing him back."
Rotary Jack will make his first appearance on the Rotary Wheel Service Road Show truck that soon will be touring the country.
"The phrase — 'Rotary Jack says…' — will play a role in Rotary promotions in the near future," Mr. Fischmer added. "He's a fun way for us to draw attention to the benefits of Rotary products from the technicians' perspective."
Vehicle Service Group, part of Dover Corp., disclosed in January that it was launching a full line of Rotary-branded wheel service equipment, including tire changers, wheel balancers and alignment equipment to complement the brand's well-known lift products.
More recently, the company disclosed details of the specific product lines being offered, including seven versions of its tire-changer lines — R1150 Leverless; R145 Tiltback; R145D Tiltback VSC; R145D automatic tire changer; R146 Swingarm Pro; and R1401 Swingarm Shop — and a range of wheel balancers.
To see historical print promotions that featured Rotary Jack, visit rotarylift.com.