Bonjour, friendly folks. Did you know that according to statistics (and my marketing professor) the average person is bombarded with hundreds of advertising messages every single day?

Yep, and as of last week, most of those have been for Gumby’s Pizza, the newest franchise to hit the pizza-saturated Ames marketplace.

Gumby’s grand opening last weekend came with great anticipation — you see, they have been running ads for their new store since the beginning of the semester.

Well, I heard through the grapevine that Gumby’s finally opened. I dialed 233-5000 last weekend and waited.

After the gratuitous “Thank you for calling, please hold,” I was entertained with a synthesized rendition of “What Child is This”? (Nothing like cheesey Christmas music to get you in the mood for pizza.)

It was then that I was given the third degree: what’s your name and telephone number, where do you live, who’s your favorite Spice Girl, etc. I clipped a coupon and ordered the Small Meal Deal.

For $9.99 I could select from any two choices of a medium one- topping pizza, medium Pokey stix, 10 wings, four pepperoni rolls and four 20 oz. sodas.

Before hanging up I asked if they had fast, free delivery. “Oh yes,” the voice on the other line replied. (I already knew this from the advertisements, but I wanted to see if the phone guy was quick on his toes.)

It was then that he told me the order would be an extra (gasp) 50 cents if I wrote a check.

But seriously folks, they took my order, I looked at my watch and the wait began. In less than 40 minutes, my roommate and I were greeted with the sweet aroma of pizza.

“The guys in the front said to tell you hi,” the driver said. I have the coolest neighbors … but I digress.

Was the pizza good? Well … the sausage pizza was dry, and for lack of a better word, didn’t have any “umph.”

Yeah, it was kinda disappointing; I would compare the taste to that of cafeteria pizza — lackluster. Who knows, maybe their dine-in pizza is a bit more saucy.

But, just like in the claymation adventures, when Gumby got in trouble, his little buddy Pokey was always there to rescue him.

The Pokey stix — hand-tossed pizza dough covered with butter and fresh garlic, smothered with mozzarella cheese and zesty Italian spices — were excellent.

I could have ordered that alone and been happy. Word on the street, (well in the Daily office anyway), is that the pepperoni rolls are delightfully delicious as well.

Gumby’s is a great name, but I’m willing to bet $4.99 that the franchise owners aren’t paying royalties to Arthur Clokey, creator of the original Gumby and Pokey we all know and love.

Besides the affordable price, fast service, extended hours (’till 3:30 am on the weekend), and delicious Pokey stixs, Gumby’s has a very cool Web site you should check out at www.gumbyspizza.com.

If you’re short on dough, (I crack myself up sometimes), or are willing to try something new, give Gumby’s Pizza a try this week.

3 1/2 stars out of five.

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Kim Zangger is a senior in advertising from Mt. Vernon.