For them, the signs of the times are hard
A young ad firm makes pitch for the homeless
The homeless man in the wheelchair stared at the stack of colorful signs, bypassing one that read, ''I know you care, just show me," and another that said, ''My sign inspires and inspiration sells," before selecting his favorite: ''If I didn't show up, you'd miss me."
Asking for change outside a Back Bay
The pro-bono campaign is the brainchild of Adam Martel, the 22-year-old founder and president of Arm Advertising, a small Huntington Ave. firm he founded five months ago.
Martel and his business partner, Danielle Saltrese, have been handing out their colorful signs in places like South Station, Kenmore Square, Copley Square, and Harvard Square for the last few weeks. Saltrese estimates they've already distributed 25 placards with eye-catching phrases like, ''I'm awesome. Show me you're awesome too," ''I breathe. That deserves a tip, " and ''Give $$$ because I'm money."
''We're trying to break up the monotony of people's days and create something unexpected," explained Saltrese, 29, who distributes used clothes along with the signs. ''These people are out there campaigning for themselves. We want them to be able to grab attention so they can campaign more effectively."
Martel and Saltrese call their technique ''live print advertising." Arm first used it last summer when it hired street performers to hold signs and pretend to sleep in public places to promote a company that sells a power-napping program.
Martel's inspiration for Arm's ''Invest in Smiles" homeless campaign came after he saw a man with a colorful sign asking for change in Copley Square. Martel gave the guy a couple of bucks and hustled back to the office with the idea for a new ''live print" effort.
''His sign said something about being the most incredible homeless person ever," Martel said. ''It was just such great copy. It was really well done. And when you think about it, the homeless, these guys with the signs, are the best advertisers because they have to be. They have nothing else to fall back on. That sign is their livelihood."
Saltrese stressed that the signs, which do not contain the Arm logo or any mention of the agency, are meant to help the homeless, not to promote the company.
''This isn't meant to be self-serving," she said. ''We're trying to use the signs to get people to see these people as individuals rather than as just another homeless person. Good advertising is always about the unexpected. That's what we're trying to do with this. Just because we're an ad agency doesn't mean we can't do something that's nonprofit."
Martel, who admitted the homeless effort dovetails nicely with Arm's professional mission to create innovative, cost-effective campaigns for its clients, puts it another way.
''We wanted to help people by doing something that we do well," he said. ''We saw the signs as a way to help people empower themselves."
Expect to see more of Arm's creative signs in the coming months. Martel and Saltrese are exploring ways to distribute the signs through nonprofit and city service agencies. Saltrese said that while some people are skeptical of Arm's unorthodox campaign, most of the homeless people she has talked to are receptive to the effort.
''I think it's been successful," she said. ''Most people are incredibly appreciative. The ones who are into it really get into it. They understand that we're just trying help them get a couple of more bucks."
The bearded man in the wheelchair, with his ''If I didn't show up, you'd miss me" sign, would agree. ''It's pretty cool," he said, declining to give his name out of fear that people he knows would find out about his needy condition. ''But I'm not sure how much it's going to help."
He propped the laminated paper sign next to the wheel of his chair and resumed rattling a large plastic cup that contained a dollar bill and some loose change.
James Whitters can be reached at whitters@globe.com.
