STUDENTS SET MOTELS STRAIGHT ON MATH

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, January 16, 1992                   TAG: 9201160054
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: C7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: SAN ANTONIO                                LENGTH: Short
STUDENTS SET MOTELS STRAIGHT ON MATH
The Red Roof Inns motel chain has pulled the plug on a nationwide radio advertisement after eighth-grade algebra students discovered a mathematical error in the promotion.
The advertisement said: "Did you know that most motel chains charge up to 50 percent more than Red Roof Inns? So, say you spend a million dollars a year on motels. You could save up to $500,000 a year by staying at Red Roof Inns."
But algebra students at Eisenhower Middle School pointed out that 50 percent more than $500,000 is $750,000, not $1 million.
"The class was right, we were wrong and the ad is gone," David Wible, vice president of marketing for Red Roof Inns, said Tuesday.
The ad ran 16 weeks before the class challenged its accuracy and was pulled in December, Wible said.
Red Roof rewarded the math hounds with sweat shirts, baseball caps and a promise of accounting jobs.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB