Ad Walkers might be the next new alternative form of adverting

By Michael Robinson |Uvalde Hesperian | Commentary

Picture credit:Ad Walkers, Adwalkers, Human Billboards › CNS Media UK

08-08-25

  With some businesses being determined to get their advertising messages out, some have used sign spinners to catch the attention of drivers. The new Blue Wave Car Washbeing a recent example. A company located in the UK has taken the concept to a new level. The concept is called “ad walkers”.

  People are paid to walk in specific high traffic areas wearing large ad boards.

  Ad walkers could get ad messages near high traffic locations on public sidewalks.

  However, ad walkers could attend local parades and stand in crowded areas along the sidewalks or even sign up as participants in these local parades. Ad Walkers could possibly attend local events and festivals as human ads but this could fall under a legal “grey” area. 

 The concept of the human wearing an ad is not new but goes back to the 19th Century according to Britannica.com:

  “The sandwich board was a popular form of advertising in the 19th century, whenmerchants and tradesmen hired men to carry the placards up and down the streets (sometimes on horseback), promoting their goods and services to passersby. Charles Dickens was the first to refer to such sign carriers as “sandwich men.” Sandwich boards disappeared in the early 20th century until the Great Depression, when lack of funds for large advertising campaigns made this inexpensive advertising technique temporarily popular once more,” according to Brittanica.com