'Homeless Hotspot' Stunt Draws Ire at SXSW
Marketing agency paid 14 people from shelter to carry mobile Wi-Fi devices through conference
Jake Coyle AP Entertainment Writer
March 13, 2012
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- A marketing stunt that paid homeless people to carry Wi-Fi signals during the South By Southwest Conference in Austin, Texas, is drawing widespread criticism.BBH Labs, a unit of the global marketing agency BBH, gave 14 people from a homeless shelter mobile Wi-Fi devices and T-shirts that announced "I am a 4G Hotspot."
BBH New York chairwoman Emma Cookson says the company paid them a minimum of $50 a day. She called the experiment a modernized version of homeless selling street newspapers.
But many have called the program exploitive. Wired.com wrote that it "sounds like something out of a darkly satirical science-fiction dystopia." ReadWriteWeb called it a "blunt display of unselfconscious gall."
The experiment was meant to begin last Friday but rain delayed its implementation until Sunday. It stopped Monday.
© 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.