Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Homeless People Advertising.

 Homeless people carry around adverts and in return get hostel rooms.
 
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A chain of hostel rooms for the homeless are funded by large consumer brands. The companies give keys for the hostel rooms to homeless people so they have their independence and can come and go as they please.

However the keys are attached to key-fobs which are 3-dimensional six-foot long renderings of the companies’ logos. The key-fobs would be painted in garish day-glo colours and made from a light material like polystyrene or balsa so they can be carried around all day. As the homeless person wanders around town all the passerby in a car or on the other side of a busy street will see is a giant floating logo.

The homeless will never be able to forget their keys and will never again find themselves home-less. The scheme gives the big brand names a chance to put a little back into society while also getting that ‘street’ presence they so dearly crave.

—sirdavy, Aug 05 2004

Halfbakery: Sponsor The Homeless http://www.halfbake...or_20The_20Homeless
Without the key fob thing. [jutta, Oct 21 2004]

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       I don't think that Coca cola really want a huge cola sign associating them with 'Billy Moggerty' the wild-eyed 56 year old smelly alchoholic.   

       Or 'Buy new mega-clean washing machine powder' is being carried round by 'Betty Mcscowler' - the mad lady who obviously hasn't had a wash in 15 years and tends to pee herself!
—britboy, Aug 05 2004
   

       A Pizza chain did this, sort of. they fed a bunch of homeless guys pizza so they would hold signs advertizing for them.
—Madai, Aug 05 2004
   

       Scarily enough, I think this would work, even though it obviously treads on tenuous morality, almost similar to the Bum FIghts videos. Are these people who are being given a chance to have a better life, or is it just exploitation of the mentally ill and hard up? And if people only see the walking Marlboro ad and not the person suffering, won't it just be easier for those of us more fortunate for forget about them, make them even more non-persons than they are all ready in our psyches? I'm not voting on this one - I haven't quite made up my mind.
—bwv61, Aug 05 2004
   

       I read this through and was leaving an anno, when I realized that it isn't the hostel themselves that the ads would be for. I thought that would be a pretty good way for me to tell which hostels I could avoid if I didn't feel like putting up with panhandlers outside my room.   

       As is though, I'm not sure it would do much good. People tend to avert their eyes from the homeless on the street. Or maybe you would only use the homeless with a respectable appearance. But then again, if they have enough pride and are capable of supporting themselves enough to not appear to be homeless, would they want to carry around a big sign indicating that they are indeed homeless? I would have to see this in action to decide if it's good or not...
—luecke, Aug 05 2004
   

       When houston was campaigning for the olympics, The Gap donated slacks and polo shirts to all the homeless. To improve the city's image.   

       Maybe you're right BWV, Maybe I will take up smoking.
—GutPunchLullabies, Aug 05 2004
   

       Oh, Lulu... I think you ought to smoke something different from what I smoke in order to feel better about the world.
—bwv61, Aug 05 2004
   

       I think this is a noble idea. Even if you think of it as exploiting the homeless, it still boils down to being a job. You do something for us, we compensate. If the homeless don't want to be part of it, they won't. I'm sure there's tons of people who would rather carry a sign all day than sleep in a cardboard box.   

       The only problem I forsee is the homeless hiding the sign when they leave their hostel room while they roam the city, only to pick the sign up and walk a block to get back to the room. If you can figure this problem out, you get all my support and a [+].
—destructionism, Aug 05 2004
   

       [destructionism]--Does handcuffing the sign to the person's wrists sound too harsh?
—Machiavelli, Aug 06 2004
   

       Make them somewhat limited (not enough for all homeless), and they won't put them down.
—Worldgineer, Aug 06 2004
   


 

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