Members of UF's Greek community are responsible for the thousands of walking billboards for apartments, insurance companies and its own events on campus and around Gainesville.
Liz Chrisco, 22, a UF architecture senior, was one of the mobile advertisements, trekking through the Plaza of the Americas with a pair of neon pink sunglasses displaying "GEICO" by her left ear.
Chrisco is an example of an easy advertising trend this summer. Local businesses and organizations are taking advantage of the sunny weather by handing out plastic, brightly colored sunglasses with screen-printed logos for free to passersby.
Premier Corp., a local marketing firm, makes the plastic eye wear, as well as other promotional items available for custom screen-printing.
Stacey Todd, Premier's office manager since January 2009, said the popularity of sunglasses orders this year has significantly increased compared to last year, and she has seen a lot more people sporting the new shades.
Greek organizations that have ordered sunglasses for its formals and socials, are responsible for the increase, she said.
Premier Corp. has done promotions for Greek organizations like Kappa Delta, Sigma Kappa, Alpha Epsilon Pi, Alpha Chi Omega, Delta Tau Delta and the Jewish Student Union.
They also have screen-printed sunglasses for apartment complexes like Cottage Grove.
UF's Tau Epsilon Phi got its sunglasses printed with "TEP Formal '10" from MRL Promotions, a promotional advertising firm based in Fort Lauderdale.
Lindsey Boyle, an employee of MRL since February, said that during spring and the beginning of summer a lot of Greek organizations were seeking these sunglasses.
Boyle attributes the fashion industry's preference for neon colors as another reason for the trend's success.
"Our formal was on the beach and we had previously done beach towels as our giveaway, so we thought sunglasses were ideal," said Justin Vines, who ordered the sunglasses from MRL for his fraternity, TEP.
Chrisco said she will continue to wear her sunglasses even though she knows she is advertising for free.
"I'm a broke college student.," Chrisco said. "Why would I say no to free sunglasses?"
