HONOLULU (KHON2) – Not everyone knows Admor HVAC Inc.
But you certainly know the daughter of the owner and her catchphrase “I love my Fujitsu”.
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“It’s interesting because I have a job in retail, but I wear a mask all the time and people only recognize me by my eyes,” said Keli Santos. “People say, ‘Do I know you from anywhere?'”
This “somewhere” has naturally appeared in commercials for and with her father Drew Santos since she was three. There was no turning back.
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“And that one picture got the whole ‘I love Fujitsu’ phenomenon in a nutshell,” said Drew Santos, President of Admor HVAC. “Nobody was doing TV commercials at the time, and I wanted to do things outside of the box and really shake up the industry. So we started producing our commercials. “
The popular TV commercials took Drew on an unusual journey that began after visiting a customer when he was a young man selling air conditioners in a small warehouse in Halawa. It turns out that this customer changed his life.
“He said, ‘What is your dream?’ And I told him I wanted the largest HVAC wholesale company in Hawaii. I want to be a superstore, ”said Drew. “So he took me to Sand Island in his car and opened a 30,000-foot warehouse and said, ‘Is this big enough for your dream?'”
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It was then that Drew began writing his own story. He decided to start an advertising campaign with himself, the Fujitsu brand and his daughter Keli. Keli admitted that some of the ideas seemed pretty cheesy.
“What if you see dad posing with all the models? That’s a big eye roll, that’s a big eye roll, ”Keli said and laughed. “All my friends say, ‘Is that your father? ‘And then I say,’ Yeah, but it’s okay, I love him, he’s my father. ‘ I have to love him, no matter what. “
Although business is booming now, according to Santos, there are many challenges along the way. The greatest thing is to gain the trust of your customers as a recognized outsider.
“I think it comes down to working hard and always doing more than your competitors are doing. Work when they’re loose, I never get complacent, ”Drew said.
It’s a work ethic that his entire team shares, he says.
“I couldn’t build this business without an incredible team of people. Some of them with us 25, even every 28 years. They gave their heart and soul. I really appreciate that, and I really appreciate that, ”Drew said.
Back to his number 1 spokesman, she really loves her Fujitsu, and for good reason. Fujitsu sends Keli to college.
“It really is. For everything I got, I thank Fujitsu for everything,” said Keli with a laugh. “I love my Fujitsu.”
