Good gosh, don't jump! This BMW billboard, along I-95, is catching attention. Photo Courtesy Connecticut Post

They say you shouldn’t jump into a major purchase, like an automobile, without sleeping on it.  And that’s probably what the folks at the BMW dealership, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, had in mind when they put their new billboard along I-95.  But the ad has generated some unexpected responses.

The message is brief: “The Overnight Test Drive,” which refers to a program BMW of Bridgeport offers allowing potential customers to take a car home for an overnight drive.  But it’s not the words that have gotten so many motorists worrying.  It’s the life-sized mannequin, in pajamas, sitting atop the sign accompanied by a teddy bear.

That’s triggered a rash of calls to the local State Police barracks from commuters worrying that someone was ready to jump (perhaps because they didn’t qualify for the program?).

Savvy retailers have been toying with roadside signs and billboards since the era of the classic Burma Shave signs.  And these days, advertisers have gotten more creative, as has the technology of the billboard itself.

Dealership officials insist they haven’t many complaints about the sign, which is located along one of the busiest stretches of roadway in the state.  But they report they have signed up plenty of customers for the test drive program.