Does New Ad Agency Wi-Fi Campaign Exploit Homeless?

[image error]A recent promotional campaign by a Manhattan ad agency at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Arts and Tech Festival in Austin, Texas that merges marketing and technology is drawing more than a tad of criticism.

For those not up to speed on the story, 13 homeless individuals in Austin were essentially transformed into walking Wi-Fi aerials after being given free MiFi gadgets and T-shirts with their names on them, along with the saying "I'm a 4G hotspot." The company paid the individuals $20 up front and at least $50 a day for approximately six hours of their time.

Needless to say, some people have not found the campaign by Bartle, Bogle and Hegarty (BBH) to be in good taste.

According to the agency, it plans to promote the idea throughout homeless shelters in New York City and in other areas should the response be positive. The company said the idea is to increase Internet connectedness for SXSW Interactive and also offer a community service to those in Austin that are homeless.

As the company's Web site points out, "These are homeless individuals. They're carrying MiFi devices. Introduce yourself, then log on to their 4G network via your phone or tablet for a quick, high-quality connection."

While some have viewed this move as a means to exploit the homeless, a spokesperson for BBH counters, noting that this project allows the homeless an opportunity to make some money off of today's technology, even pointing out that homelessness was a subject being talked about at SXSW.

The project involves the homeless to stand in a pre-set location and allow "customers" to come their way. Users are asked (not required) to compensate their human service providers $2 per 15 minutes, although any donation will be accepted. In order to receive the service, customers are required to be within 30 feet of the homeless individual.

While a number of homeless that were interviewed were open to serving as walking Wi-Fi hotspots, especially looking at it as a business opportunity, others said that they could make more money in an hour by panhandling.

In the end, many conference participants report that the festival and this particular campaign have led to more discussions regarding homelessness, affordable housing, employment options and shelters in a long time.

So, is this a good marketing idea or exploitation in your opinion?

Photo credit: news.discovery.com

Editor's note: The person's full image in the photo was purposefully not shown.

 

 

 

 

 

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