An Ocean Of Promotion

"If you want to find out more," a voice says over a loudspeaker, "GoArmy.com."

The marketers will tell you that spring break is a fabulous opportunity because so many students are here at once and they're not doing much. People this age, they say, are picking out the products they may use for the rest of their lives. Matt Britton, the chief of brand development for a company called Mr. Youth, says that at 32, he still uses a credit card he signed up for in college to nab a free T-shirt.

"That's college marketing at its finest," Britton says.

Marketers speak of things like HBA and ROI and CRM, of "premiums" and "metrics" and something called "deep-dive brand engagement." But the talk boils down to this: At spring break, there is almost no empty space. Advertising is everywhere the students are, from the hotel rooms to the nightclubs, and beyond.

Witness what Britton calls the "interactive brand experience" he runs for Neutrogena to promote its Acne Stress Control line. Inside the tent, there are sinks where you can wash your face with Acne Stress Control Power-Foam Wash. There are free massages. A beautiful blond woman encourages visitors to give their names and e-mail addresses in exchange for free samples and the chance to win a gift basket. There's a casting studio where kids can tape videos in hopes of making it onto a Neutrogena-sponsored online reality show.

"Tell us what stresses you out," says Erin Holbrook, the casting director, to a petite young woman in a polka-dot bikini who is asked to identify herself by her casting number, 1570. "I want you to be honest."

"Driving stresses me," says 1570, whose real name is Jessie Gudahl, and who confesses afterward that she has no interest in using Neutrogena, although she really does want a Neutrogena T-shirt. (Free stuff. Who can explain the magical lure?)

So much to do here. When the girls tire of tanning and the guys of football, they may walk over to the Geico tent and play some Xbox. On the way out, they can grab a Geico drink "coozie," or insulator, for their beer can. They can grab a free Sobe Life Water from a barrel that's constantly being refilled. Maybe they'll give their personal information to the Army so they can get a towel. Maybe they'll run the Army's elaborate obstacle course or ride the Army's mechanical bull -- four girls at once, wobbling and grinning.

Maybe they'll play a brief game of mini-golf at the Venus Breeze tent and win a baby-blue tank top, like 19-year-old Katie Waites right here, who looks mighty pleased. What else have you gotten, Katie?

"I got suntan lotion and tanning lotion and a razor and a shirt and I got two coozies," Waites says. Maybe they'll visit the Trojan booth, where in addition to the oxygen bar they can win stuff by playing a roulette-style game that's being run by a lovely young woman named Chasity -- like Chastity, but minus a T.

The loot accumulates as if splitting off from itself, amoeba-style. One guy has four hats and three T-shirts. A college senior named Tori Voorhees makes off with an entire case of Vitamin Water.

Even the senior citizens want a piece. An old guy with a cane limps off toward a condo with two energy drinks and a bag of skin-care samples.