The government's Cash for Clunkers program has prompted a spate of copycat offerings from retailers and manufacturers.

Customers can trade in used furnishings at Ruby & Quiri in Johnstown, N.Y., or Pacific Manufacturing in Phoenix. There's Credit for Clunkers at 1-800-Mattress, Cash for Couches at Lillian August in Connecticut, and what some retailers are calling Cash for Teakettles, which Chantal Cookware Corp. will introduce next month.

Even Leibler-Bronfman Lubalin Advertising in New York City has its own tongue-in-cheek version of the campaign. Called Cash for Creative Clunkers, it encourages companies and retailers to trade in their ad "lemons" for a new ad campaign at 50 percent off the normal sticker price for creative services.

The offer is a departure for the agency, which specializes in luxury brands and high-end retail accounts. One of the agency's staffers came up with the idea at a daily brainstorming session. "Everyone's complaining that they're concerned about spending money on advertising. And we see all those surveys that say that you need to be out there front and center," says Beth Bronfman, founder of LBL Advertising. "We thought it would be kind of cool if we could help people advertise." That's when one young art director said, "Why don't we do something like Cash for Clunkers for clients?"

Bronfman, not surprisingly, is a strong advocate for continuing to advertise during the recession. "If you're not out there advertising, the consumer doesn't think you're a viable brand," Bronfman says. Even worse, "Retailers may not buy your product because you're not driving business to their stores."

The campaign is also a departure for LBL Advertising because, like the shoemaker whose kids have no shoes, the agency typically doesn't advertise its own services. Bronfman says it's not so much a bid for business as a way to get the company's name "out there" in a fun way. And it's been working. "It's gotten a tremendous amount of exposure; there's a lot of buzz in the ad community." She's been interviewed on radio and various ad publications are picking up the story.

Says Bronfman, "This just shows people that, 'Wow--this is a clever idea. So if an agency can think of something like this, think of what they can do for me.'"

So what does Bronfman consider a clunker of an ad?

"A lot of people run ads that if the logo falls off the page, you've no idea whose ad it is. Everything we do, nothing looks the same because it's all what looks right for that client. We give each brand an image.

"What we're saying with Cash for Creative Clunkers is, if you're running ads and you're not getting a response, you should call us--it's a clunker. It's not working."

Bronfman's advice for would-be advertisers: "Be honest. If a consumer buys a product and it's not what they expect, you lose them. Be who you are. Really have an honesty about how you communicate what the product benefits are. You've got to be who you say."

Bronfman has weathered more than one downturn in 24 years of business. Her secrets of success include:

• A lean, mean operation. In addition to her 12-person staff, Bronfman has a host of strategic alliances. If a client needs PR, a TV commercial or is planning an event, LBL has contacts to provide those services seamlessly--without having to maintain all those services in-house.
   
• Being there for clients--and being nice. "We have really positioned ourselves to be a benefit for clients in good and bad times," she says. "You have to be with them and working with them all the time on growing their business. You have to be very resourceful and resilient and nice.
   
• Be a cheerleader. "I always tell everybody, don't get frustrated. It's so unproductive to be down and dismayed, because you're wasting time. As entrepreneurs we have to be positive and look for ways to make things happen. You can't give up."
   
• Join a women's organization. Bronfman serves on the board of the Women Presidents' Organization. "WPO is so phenomenal because it acts like a board of directors. I think it's really helped in my growth."