April 11, 2008

Dear Friends,

There’s no question about it – unlicensed activity is ugly business. It can lead consumers to personal or financial harm and create unfair competition for licensed professionals. As many of you know, the Department fights unlicensed activity using a portion of license fees that is earmarked for this purpose. The annual strategic plan to combat unlicensed activity includes everything from informational materials to a full-scale media campaign intended to educate the public.

Keep your eyes open this April because a sneak peek at our FY2008/2009 “ugly business” unlicensed activity media campaign is coming to a mall near you. The Office of Communications has developed an edgy, artistic new advertisement that will be showcased in backlit mall displays in Miami, Orlando, Tallahassee, and Tampa. These ads target unlicensed activity in the cosmetology field – hence the tagline, “Working with Unlicensed Cosmetologists is Ugly Business.”

These “sneak peek” ads will remain on display through the end of June. The new campaign begins on July 1st, and the “ugly business” theme and comic book aesthetic will appear in multi-media ads across the state.

This Sunday, I look forward to unveiling one of these poster-sized ads at the Cosmetology Board meeting, so they can see firsthand how we’re working to improve business for licensed cosmetologists and protect consumers.

Sincerely,

Chuck Drago
Interim Secretary

Department of Business and
Professional Regulation
1940 North Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399
Customer Contact Center:
850.487.1395
www.MyFloridaLicense.com