Ethics Newsline®

DENVER
A Colorado advertising agency last week fended off criticism after the firm offered pithy signs to Denver panhandlers recruited to promote the company while asking for contributions from passersby.

The signs, created by downtown ad agency Sumaato, carried messages that included, “Last Year I was a Dot.Com CEO,” “At Least I’m Not Spamming Your Email,” and, “Hell, It Beats a Cubicle.”

Dennis Wakabayachi, CEO of Sumaato Advertising, said the placards were meant as a humorous plug for his company, which thought it could mix self-promotion with helping panhandlers.

“We found that humorous signs have been more successful for panhandlers,” Wakabayashi said in a press release. “So, we decided to have a little fun with it.”

“We’re an ad agency, and in this tough market we have to do something to get attention,” Wakabayachi told the Rocky Mountain News.

John Parvensky, president of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, was less enthusiastic about the marketing stunt, which was refused by one out of every five panhandlers the firm approached.

“It seems to trivialize the problems that homeless folks are facing,” Parvensky told the Rocky Mountain News. “I think it’s focusing attention in the wrong direction.”

The signs, which also include a list of shelters and kitchens for the homeless, include the tag line, “Sumaato Advertising Works” — something the agency hopes will prove true once the controversy dies down.