Talk:Bumvertising

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[edit] Unencyclopedic content

• I have deemed the following content to be unencyclopedic because it does not include a source; most of it hangs between common sense and conjecture; the rhetorical structure is of an argument rather than an article; and it includes unverifiable claims. Dystopos 14:04, 1 September 2005 (UTC)

In high traffic areas, such as intersections many beggars hold up a sign describing their plight but most people that pass by do not contribute to the beggar. To an advertiser this could be a valuable resource to reach a broader audience. The homeless person will usually carry the sign for a small amount of money or food for a rather low expense to the advertiser. The cost to get the beggar to hold the sign is much cheaper than paying minimum wage to a person wearing a sandwich board or costume.

To the homeless person, carrying the extra sign is a negligible amount of extra effort to what they were already doing. They usually welcome the extra amount of income generated by carrying it.

I think it's a bad idea. There was a time after a rock show, that a homeless person handed me a card advertising something. So I took it, then he starts yelling at me "WHERE'S MY MONEY!" I thought he was going to assault me. You really shouldn't trust a unpredictable person like that, to do something. Especially when the person will only associate the product, with nearly being mugged by some poor ignoramus being used.

[edit] Notable? Article name choice. Product or phenomenon?

The sources provided look like a rather brief news blip - it's not altogether clear to me that the "bumvertising" product name has necessarily received sufficient coverage in reliable secondary sources to meet WP:Notability. Also, it's not clear to me whether this is intended as an article solely about the trademarked product, or about "Homeless advertising" (the phrase used by one of the news sources) in general. If the latter, the article would most appropriately be moved to Homeless advertising to indicate its broader scope.

I don't think the idea of homeless advertising can be new - I remember musing about the idea myself on a discussion forum years ago. There should be many other examples to cite. Also, I'd be curious about the broader question of whether highly visible street people set fashion or other social trends (such as the damaged clothing seen in so many American department stores...). Wnt (talk) 19:34, 22 March 2008 (UTC)