Most drivers will notice plenty of signs and billboards over the course of their regular commute. However, a man from the Buffalo area was hoping that a certain driver would notice one sign in particular: last December, “E.K.” took out a billboard on Interstate 490, near Rochester, asking his girlfriend “Sara” not to leave.
The prominent crimson billboard, which read “Sara, please don’t leave” was erected on Monday, December 15. It could be seen by drivers heading eastbound on the 490, and was placed just before the exit for South Goodman Street. The sign was on display for two weeks before it was taken down.
The billboard was reportedly taken out by an Amherst-based advertising agency, Quinlan and Company, in early December. The company had received the request from a client hoping to convince his girlfriend not to leave the Rochester area. At the time, the couple was apparently separated by about 75 miles.
In the past, Quinlan and Company’s staff of 24 employees has helped coordinate wedding proposals at sports events, surprise parties, anniversary celebrations, hot air balloon rides and corporate events. They have previously worked with Sahlen’s Hot Dog Company, the Western New York Flash, Northwest Savings Banks and Five Star Bank, to name a few. The company’s CEO, Gary Miller, declined to name the couple involved at his client’s request. However, he did say that the man had specifically requested the billboard and was a legitimate attempt to maintain his relationship.
Miller has stated that despite the public nature of E.K.’s plea, he does not know if the billboard successfully convinced Sara to remain in Rochester, leaving a number of nagging questions unanswered. Who are E.K. and Sara? Why was the intended recipient intending to leave the area? Did her boyfriend’s plan work? Then, of course, there is the secret dread that Sara never saw the sign at all; after all, studies show people are three times more likely to look at moving billboards than static signs, and E.K’s billboard was only one of dozens of signs along 490. Unfortunately, it seems that we will never know the truth.
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