PHOTO: Submitted by Johnny Hewerdine
Two real estate agents in London, Ontario, who were dismissed from a realty firm for using their slogan, “You could do worse,” in their advertising campaign, have now fully embraced it.
Tristan Squire-Smith, 42, and Johnny Hewerdine, 43, were let go in December from a real estate business they prefer not to name, but were soon hired by the Realty Firm. CBC News reviewed their termination letter, which cited “professional differences.”
“We might not be for everybody, but the people who like us really love us,” said Squire-Smith.
“They fired us for excessively using the phrase, ‘You could do worse,'” explained Hewerdine, a Realty Firm broker who formerly worked as an electrician. “We just stuck with it and actually doubled down on it, and now it’s completely taken off.”
Hewerdine acknowledged the slogan is polarizing, but the pair aims to humanize the industry.
“It’s a great sort of self-deprecating phrase that means you’re actually not doing too bad,” said Squire-Smith, a registered nurse who retrained as a real estate agent during the pandemic and continues to work part-time in long-term care.
Randy Pawlowski, past president of the London St. Thomas Association of Realtors, declined to comment directly on the billboard or the slogan but emphasized his commitment to professionalism in the industry.
The latest billboard by Squire-Smith and Hewerdine, located on Wharncliffe Road, a busy street in London, features photographs of them as teenagers. Squire-Smith has long curly blond hair, and Hewerdine is shown in his Grade 8 graduation robes. Another billboard proudly states, “Zero awards won! (No fine print required).”
The two men, who met two decades ago on the varsity swim team at Western University, say they’re trying to humanize the industry.
“These photos were taken at our most awkward moments,” said Hewerdine. “I’m a 13-year-old Grade 8 graduate in this photo, and Tristan is 15 years old.”
“We’re just really focusing on the consumer, as opposed to us standing up on a billboard with arms crossed, trying to look perfect,” Hewerdine added.
“They’re total professionals,” said Pete Greenwood, who recently hired Hewerdine to sell his condo. It was listed for $389,900 and sold for $400,000 in five days.
“He’s just a good guy to work with, and so is Tristan,” Greenwood said. “They did a 30-second video of my house, and since we’re all big Seinfeld fans, we created a Seinfeld-themed video of my house. I never laughed so hard in my life.”
SOURCE: YAHOO