In an effort to further penetrate their marketshare as an ad supplier for traditional media, Google recently rolled out their new AdSense for the homeless program.
“There are a lot of eyeballs looking a these signs which are located on some prime, highly trafficked sections of real estate,” said Eric Goldman, VP of fringe marketing. “We’d be fools to overlook this delivery channel.”
To begin using the program, a homeless person must first set up an AdSense account and install a small bit of JavaScript in each of their cardboard signs. Accrued revenue is directly deposited to the hobo’s account.
“This is no different from our expansion into radio and print media,” Goldman said. “Google is the best company in the world at delivering highly targeted ads based on supplied content.”
“It’s like Google just doesn’t care anymore,” said Jerry Yang, founder and CEO of Yahoo. “Their philosophy is that ads could be on any surface so long as eyeballs pass over them. By that rational we should soon be seeing Google’s presence on the backs of womens’ skirts, shorts and tight-pants.”
When asked to comment on Yang’s remarks, Goldman was initially silent. “That’s… that’s brilliant!” he finally replied. “We could call it AssSense!”
I was reading a coaster at a bar the other day. It was a Rolling Rock coaster and said something like, “To anyone who was offended by our recent ads, we sincerely apologize.” These coasters had been here for quite awhile. Which made me think, first of all, that Rolling Rock must have done something really awful that I hadn’t heard about. Note to self. Rolling Rock displays really offensive ads. And second, great guerilla marketing idea. There are a lot of bars who’ll use stuff just because it’s free. How much could it cost to make flimsy coasters?
Or, if marketing isn’t the goal, it would be kind of cool to simply apologize on behalf of someone for their really offensive ads.
“To anyone who was offended by our recent ad depicting a puppy with a machine gun strafing an old lady and leaving her for dead in order to steal her purse, and also just for fun, and because we thought it was hilarious, Bank of America sincerely apologizes.”
If there’s space: “Be assured that we have taken swift action to make sure this doesn’t happen in the future, by firing a giant bazooka, followed by a flame thrower, and lastly a catapult, at our nationwide director of marketing. He is unlikely to recover.”
Speaking of ad real estate in establishments like that, I wonder if you could sneak a picture up on the wall, maybe with your logo in the background. There’s so much junk on the wall some places I doubt anyone would notice. Of course, the downside is that there’s so much junk on the wall some places I doubt anyone would notice.
The Google ads on the homeless sign are a great idea except you forget the most obvious problem. The homeless guy could just click on the ads all day long while sitting there which would be unauthorized clicks and sponsors would drop out left and right. Sometimes I really wonder whether you think anything through at all, Brian.