Knives & insurance? Unique Erie billboards show strong brotherly bond

The Kunick brothers have always wanted to work together, even though Case Kunick sells knives and Cale Kunick sells insurance.

Their first opportunity came over the summer during a charity golf outing, when Case Kunick bid the highest amount to advertise on two billboards. Instead of using them to promote his job as a Cutco knife salesman, he had another idea.

“I wanted people to recognize that Cale and I are brothers,” Case Kunick said. “We both have developed a good-sized base of customers and I like the idea of people knowing we are related, and perhaps one of my customers needs insurance or one of his needs knives.”

The distinctive-looking billboards along West 12th Street in Millcreek Township and Erie — one facing west, the other facing east — make that goal clear.

They feature portraits of the brothers standing back to back, with “Call the Knife Guy” and “Call the Insurance Guy” written above their respective heads. Their names and phone numbers are listed at the bottom of the advertisement.

“I haven’t seen the actual billboard yet but people are sending me photos of it,” said Cale Kunick, who works for Bankers Life’s offices in Grove City and Erie. “They seem to like it.”

The brothers grew up on a eastern Crawford County farm in Centerville, where they learned the importance of daily chores and finishing what they started.

Cale Kunick, 41, recalled watching his brother sells knives from his booth at the Crawford County Fair.

“Our booths were set up across from each other under the grandstand, so I could see him there all day long,” Cale Kunick said. “He would be standing there, telling people about Cutco knives from 9:30, 10 in the morning until the fair closed at night around 10.”

Case Kunick, 36, said that his strong desire to sell developed from watching his older brother.

“I didn’t want to compete with him but it drew me into that career,” Case Kunick said. “He’s a man of God, a great family man and he subs as a pastor at his church. He’s also overcome challenges in his life.”

Cale Kunick was born with dwarfism.

Why the brothers chose to put billboards in Erie

Though the brothers do much of their business outside of Erie, they didn’t hesitate to select billboards along one of the city’s busiest streets.

“I live here in Erie and Cale has one of his offices in town, so it made sense,” Case Kunick said.

“It also gets a lot of traffic,” Cale Kunick added.

The outdoor ads will remain up through late December, longer if the weather is bad, Cale Kunick said.

Another chance to work together?

The billboards eventually will come down but the brothers will continue to find ways to help each other’s career.

“I bought a piece of property in Centerville and I would love to build a gas station and convenience store, and sell other things there,” Cale Kunick said. “I know Case is doing so well with Cutco, but I would love to do this if he would consider it.”