Bumvertising

Bumvertising

Bumvertising is a trademarked name for a form of informal employment in which a homeless person is paid to display advertising.

A website [1] publicizing this form of advertising was launched in August 2005 by Benjamin Rogovy, a 22-year-old entrepreneur who hired homeless men in the U.S. city of Seattle, Washington, to carry signs with the URL of his poker player match-up site.

Critics accuse Rogovy of exploiting the poor and take particular offense to the use of “bum” which is considered pejorative by many.

Rogovy was parodied during an interview by correspondent Dan Bakkedahl on the September 20, 2005 episode of The Daily Show.

Given the controversial name, “bumvertising” may be designed for publicity, rather than as a legitimate advertising system. Most media attention has focused on the controversial practice and terminology. When media cover the bumvertising story, they typically also mention Pokerfacebook.com, the company that trademarked the term and pioneered the practice. This puts the company’s URL before a large audience for free. After a segment on The Daily Show, Pokerfacebook.com and bumvertising.com’s servers responded slowly, likely under the strain of site traffic.



See also

Frank Chu

Homelessness

Bumfights