The first road-wavers I can remember advertise for a local tax preparation company and always show up starting around February (shouldn't be much longer for the 2010 version). Although I don't recall the name of the company, I vividly remember the foam costume of the Statue of Liberty the person wears as they wave at passing cars encouraging them to stop and get their tax returns prepared. Now I can't speak for you, but Lady Liberty is the last image I conjure up when thinking about filing my taxes. I could, however, suggest a few more appropriately associated characters...but that probably wouldn't be very nice of me, so I'll stop there.
Of course, I'm excluding the politicians that always post up in high traffic spots to grovel for votes before an election. Talk about occupational hazards....I see that practice becoming extinct soon for shear safety sake. Those HMO, insurance company, and hospital employees can be down right mean people when provoked.
Lately, it's very common to see some kid from Little Caesars or Hardees roadside listening to an iPod and waving a sign for great food deals. Now, both of these companies spend millions of dollars each year on television and radio ads, some very memorable, yet they still find it necessary to pay some kid $7.25 an hour to make like a prostitute working a street corner? Oh sorry...I'd better be careful not to plant any ideas...some product or service marketing tactics could get down right embarrassing out there for everyone to see. Nuff said.
My point is that if your multi-million dollar national ad campaigns for $5 pizzas isn't good enough to draw customers to your stores, do you really think freezing some poor kid outside with a cheap cardboard sign will do the trick? I mean come on...we're talking $5 pizzas! That deal speaks for itself!
Maybe there's a new module of curriculum in business schools that's developed since my days in marketing class. It could be me just not understanding or even accepting the impact of this type of advertising. I mean...I don't have any gold I need to sell at the moment, but maybe I will someday, and maybe I'll remember that Arabic-looking man waving at me as a drive home each day advertising that he will give me cash for said gold. I just can't say at this moment. He seems nice enough and all...
I do know if more and more businesses start deploying the road-waver technique, the last mile or so of my commute home will look more like I'm driving into a NASCAR pit stop instead of just trying to get home from work.
I think I'll bring up at our next church business meeting we need to get with the times and have someone outside the church with a sign during all church services to let people driving by know what's being offered inside. Excellent. Remember you heard it here first...
Well...on second thought...we'd probably never agree on what would actually go on the sign...or who would have to stand outside in the cold or rain...or how much they'd get paid...or if our insurance policy covers us if an accident is caused by someone looking over at the sign and wrecking their car.
Better scratch that idea.
10 comments:
Ha! I was just watching Talladega Nights last night. Ricky Bobby was lamenting that the advertising sticker across his windshield was dangerous and inconvenient, but he did like the product.
What about the people in creepy animal costumes? Ugh!
I'm sort of liking the Church Street Walker idea. Let's at least form a committee and consider it.
We had spinning Quiznos cups and submarine sandwiches (yes it did look like that from a distance) - I mean these guys (or girls - no way to tell) were into it. They were rockin' out, dancing and giving thumbs up to the passers by. It was just across the street from our condo, so we were - well, like friends.
Our liberty statue guy was, well, was of a minority out there with his boom-box dancing like Little Richard. People actually stopped to see the show - his big hit was I Feel Good! But that was before Obamacare was voted in.
I have to tell you, the ones doing to "going out of business" sales for furniture stores - now that's a sad lot. Most of them look like signs that are smoking - but hey, it's 15 degrees here.
I think it would be good to have someone in front of church. It would remind people that whatever they're doing is not as important as God. I dunno, something like "Don't go to Hell, Come On In" might work.
And think about it, they could do Sundays at your place, Saturdays at the synagogue, jam in the Wednesday Bible study, and pick up a few holy days and possibly a mosque or two.
But we'd probably have to pay them double time. ;o)
I was really getting into the church sign idea.
Then I read David's idea - definitely a must do! Besides his sign idea others could be: "Free coffee and Forgiveness of sin" or "When God talks...You can listen - right here, right now"
We have a guy dressed in a banana suit for the smoothie shop down the street. I always wonder how those people get that job. I think I may have too much pride for that..... or maybe no patients for it. Not sure I could do it, but I guess when you need a pay check of any kind..... its hard to say what you would or wouldn't do.
Interesting. And to think this all started from the Homeless guy standing on the street corner waving "Will work for food sign".
Considering many more will be standing on the street corners Homless ( Thanks to Obama's lack of stimulus funds to who needs it), I might just start a new business leasing street corners in my town to the multitudes of new homeless people.That should tide me over as I struggle not to become homeless.
You would want to make sure the building fund doesn't get the boot for the sign fund, the church might split over it.
Thank goodness I'm a mature adult with a 35-year career. Hopefully I won't have to become a road-waver for minimum wage anytime soon!
hahahahahahahahaha....oh wow...how I've missed you blog! I've been out of the "blog" loop lately and it's sooo so very good to come back and be greeted by your hilarious, relevant, witty political humor and whatever else may come along! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT! Dude, you should make shirts and I will PROUDLY sport my Tony C Today T-Shirt around Kansas. Thanks for yet again another GREAT read! Happy 2010 to ya!
Our Pastor was joking that somebody should be wearing a sandwich board AFTER the Christmas services (which were so well attended) that says WE ARE STILL OPEN AFTER CHRISTMAS :-)
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