Ling Valentine steals yet another advantage over main dealers
Ling Valentine, owner of an online leasing company called LingsCars.com has done it again. After appearing on the BBC programme Dragons Den and being famous for refusing their money, she’s now got herself included as a character in VIZ, the adult comic.
Whether you loathe or like independent leasing companies, you have to acknowledge the sheer cheek and marketing savvy that this company utiliises. By operating outside of the norms of the “usual” main dealer activities, Ling Valentine has become a very high profile character, much to the annoyance of many main franchised dealers. Well, the annoyance is perfectly understood, but the main question is, “Why are we not seeing main dealers getting involved in such high profile marketing projects?”
I have questioned Ling about her current sales volumes and the effect of the credit crunch and she informs me that business is booming. (I won’t quote exact figures).
Ling says “Dragons Den is being re-run on “Dave” and the web site goes mental with the volume of enquires we get for days afterward. We have a new office and we’re lookng to employ more people to cope with the growth.“
Needless to say, being the marketing genius that she is, she’s released a story prior to the project going live in Viz. Why oh why do dealers not do this kind of thing?
A Chink in Viz’s armour
Ling Valentine, the female owner of LingsCars.com, is being honoured in print by becoming the latest real-life character to feature in Viz magazine.
The search has been on to find a suitable replacement for Viz star and local ethnic hero Abdul Latif, Lord of Harpole, following his tragic death earlier this year.
Ling, the “mental oriental” online car leasing entrepreneur and former Dragons’ Den monneygrabber, is getting a taste of fame after being selected from hundreds of applicants from the business community to become Viz’s mentally unstable Business Ambassador.
“She was chosen on the basis of being completely barking mad” said Viz editor Hampton Doubleday. “Her lunacy and character is evident from her website, Lingscars.com. She’s also quite short, so we save on ink.”
Ling (35), a Master’s Degree educated “Chinglish” immigrant who came to the UK ten years ago and set up her award-winning website selling over £30 million of new cars every year, says:
“To celebrate my appointment as Viz’s ethic business ambassador, I have bought a flagpole and Chinese flag and I fly it outside my Gateshead office. I have been chomping on Ferrari Rochers and I’m partying by giving away a packet of instant F.U.K.U. brand noodles to every person who rents a car from my website. I’ll even supply my new customers with chopsticks and awful preserved plum Chinese pudding.”
“I’m not sure what my role in the comic will be, but Hampton told me it will probably involve my nuclear missile truck and two flat snags. I have no idea what that is, but he told me it is a common term for English girls. I will also offer motoring tips, such as ‘don’t wash your car - simply rent a new one from me!’”
Ling will feature alongside such classic names as Roger Mellie and Sid the Sexist.
“I have no idea about those strange people”, said Ling. “All I know is that Viz has a very highly educated, effluent readership, mainly hairy men”.
Viz, the adult comic magazine, has been published on Tyneside since 1979.
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