4 Guys Who Know Nothing

   This sign, and many like it, have been seen at various intersections around town. It is usually placed near a stop sign or light pole. The four guys who know nothing have talked about it and find it a bit intriguing.  The sign reads:

“Income Opportunity, Breakthru Technology, $800.00 - $1,000.00/mo, part time – from home.”

There are so many questions that come to mind. If someone has an exciting “breakthru” technology they want to get out to the public, would these magic marker, hand lettered, corrugated plastic signs be the most effective tool to spread the word? If this is a new technology and you are recruiting folks to sell your idea, wouldn’t you go after people who have access to current technological advances like Internet, telephone, maybe newspapers? Do you really want your staff to be the sort of people who stop at a traffic signal, don’t pay attention to the traffic but instead read these signs stuck in the snow bank, search for a pen and paper to jot down the phone number, all the while traffic piles up behind them? Or maybe it is aimed at foot traffic. Hey, this is winter in Minnesota! Even if I choose to go out for a brisk walk, I’m not going to stop and remove my mittens to write down this information.

 Is this the way other ”breakthru” technologies were first marketed? Did Bill Gates sell his first personal computers this way? Did Henry Ford post these signs along horse paths near Detroit? And the payback. $800 to $1,000 is OK, but come on, if this is so “breakthru” shouldn’t we be making a few more bucks than that? Even if it is part time?

We actually thought maybe the technology is the weather proof signs. These babies have been through snow, sleet, road salt, UV rays, wind and dog urine and look just as fresh as the day they first appeared. The new technology can’t be an automatic spell checker for hand lettered signs. That would be a major “breakthru”. I had to find out. TR took the photo and blotted out the phone number from the picture. I had to do a “drive by”,  jot the number down (after removing my mittens while waiting at a green traffic light) and give it a ring.

 I was hoping for a taped message. No such luck. A very nice man explained that the breakthrough technology is a way to process vitamins so they are easily absorbed by the body. The income opportunity is selling the vitamins. Ah well, I may know nothing about most things, but I found out about selling vitamins. I make no judgement on the product. There is much I don’t know about health care and wellness. During our conversation the man mentioned that this vitamin company has recently spent over $100 million on advertising. Wow. That is a lot of little plastic signs. Once again, the big money is in marketing. Vitamins are great, but I just wish I had stock in magic marker and corrugated plastic.