ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, August 4, 1996 TAG: 9608020058
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: DALLAS
SOURCE: JEFFREY WEISS DALLAS MORNING NEWS
THE PINK CADILLAC is still the coveted prize for those who sell for the company, but now the Caddies are sharing the highways with pink Grand Prixes and red Grand Ams.
On an average rush-hour morning, motorists negotiating the streets of downtown Dallas are apt to see red. And pink.
Pink Cadillacs.
Even the cosmetically challenged probably recognize that the Mary Kay crew is in town for a series of sales seminars or a convention.
Actually, some of the red on the roads these days belongs to Mary Kay folk, too, though other drivers may not realize it. The pink cars may be best identified with the company, but even more red Pontiac Grand Ams are awarded to women who successfully sell or recruit others to sell.
The difference between a red car and a pink one is a measure of accomplishment, and that's not the only such color cue for Mary Kay Cosmetics.
For those inside the organization, different styles of clothing signal success as surely as an officer's insignia in the military. For example, the red jacket signifies one level, the raspberry blazer a higher one.
But for outsiders, particularly in the home region of the Dallas-based company, that particular shade of pink car paint may be the most recognized symbol of Mary Kay achievement.
``Pink means success,'' said Cindy Parlett of Maryland, who aspires to drive a pink-mobile and was among hundreds of women who had their photos taken in front of cars on display outside the convention center.
One by one, they grabbed the door handles, struck sophisticated model-like poses or splayed themselves out playfully for pictures that would be used as motivational tools.
``It would be such a feeling of accomplishment, like the top,'' Deborah Franklin of Humble, near Houston, said after having her photo taken in front of one of the cars.
More than 45,000 women were expected to attend one of the series of three-day seminars that ended Wednesday.
The Mary Kayers call the cars ``trophies on wheels.'' The tradition started when company founder Mary Kay Ash took her car to get a paint job to match the distinctive shade of pink on the cosmetic compact she was selling.
Her employees wanted one, too. And the idea of the car as trophy was born. That was 1967.
But today, the cars aren't all Cadillacs, or all pink.
The Mary Kay ladder of success offers awards for sales and recruitment - a chandelier, a silver plate, a diamond ring. The cars are the pinnacle.
The smallest and least exclusive automotive award is the red Pontiac Grand Am, awarded for recruiting 15 new ``beauty consultants'' and selling at least $4,000 worth of products, wholesale, in four months.
The next level is the pink Pontiac Grand Prix, for 30 recruits and $65,000 in products sold by a unit in two quarters. The pink Cadillac represents at least $100,000 in wholesale unit sales in two quarters.
The winners get free use of the car for two years, then must requalify for a new car.
Since 1978, Mary Kay has awarded about 47,000 cars in the United States. About 2,400 pink Caddys and Grand Prixes are now on American roads, along with about 6,600 red Mary Kay-awarded Grand Ams.
Lynette Sorrentino, a senior sales director from the Kansas City, Mo., area, has been driving a pink car - upgrading from Grand Prix to Cadillac - for about two years.
``The looks you get,'' she said. ``People give you a thumbs up.''
``Truckers honk their horns and wave,'' added Laurie Cole of suburban Allen, Texas, six months into driving her pink Cadillac.
The company was started by Ash in 1963 and used direct-sales parties to push products and recruit new ``consultants.'' The company now claims to have the best-selling line of cosmetics in the world, with branch offices in Russia, Europe and South and Central America.
The cars are symbolic of the freedom and independence the company gives the women who work for it, said Todd Cole.
Cole, husband of Laurie, said he was ``quietly skeptical'' when his wife told him she was going to sell makeup. But last month he was given a ``Man of the Year'' award for being the most supportive husband in his region.
Cole is far different since working for Mary Kay, her husband said.
``I can tell you that Mary Kay has added an extra bounce to her step, and an extra sparkle to her eye,'' he said.
And a pink Cadillac to their driveway.
LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: KRT Kelly Moyer of San Diego poses for a picture inby CNBfront of a Mary Kay car. color