Everything I know about advertising I learned from a homeless man

Okay, maybe not everything. But I did learn one lesson.

If you're anything like me, you've lived in a large city and passed by panhandlers and semi-con artists on a daily bases without giving it a second thought. Or at least tried not to give it a thought. But chances are you rarely ever gave out money.

There was this one panhandler who used to sit on the Clark St. bridge in Chicago. The first day I passed him he had a cardboard sign that read something like: "Help. Severe case of writers block." I chuckled and gave him money. I turned around and more people behind me were giving him money. Then another day I saw a group of teens around him on the bridge, all laughing and giving him money. He was telling jokes, I don't remember what the were but they were funny, and probably self depreciating.

The lesson here, if you're asking for money, make people feel good about giving you money. He probably made 100x's what other panhandlers in similar locations were making. Those who try to con, or beg just make you either angry or make you feel bad, but chances are you'd just drop your head and walk away.


So this takes us to the worse ads on TV today.

Save the children: To which I can't find the link.


Save the animals



So thanks Sarah. I might have been in the mood to save a puppy today. But now, thanks to you, I'm paralyzed with grief. At least one less puppy was saved today. The blood is on your hands.