Free Publicity With Dogs, Cats, and Rats

Here's a fascinating idea.. Having noticed that there always seemed to be many stray cats and dogs in his neighborhood, it occurred to a clever pet shop owner that he could use cheap animal collars and attach an advertising message to those potential 24 hour, walking "billboards". He also dressed them up with animal "shirts" that had his web site address printed all over them.

After unleashing about 30 four legged "salesmen" into his unsuspecting neighborhood, he struck advertising gold when his local TV and radio stations noticed the unusual "phenomenon" of "uniformed" animals. This got him thousands of dollars worth of mass media advertising almost totally free.

Imagine the media coverage you could get if this idea was used on a bigger scale, perhaps trying to break a Guinness World Record!

For More Unusual Web Traffic Generation Ideas, Visit http://www.hugevoice.com or send blank email to: mailto:subscribe@hugevoice.com

Please feel free to use this article in your website, ezine or e- book. I ask,though, that you reproduce it in its entirety and without alteration, including the resouce information above.

© Copyright 2002 Terence Tan. All Rights Reserved.

About The Author

Terence is the editor of Hugevoice Bulletins, an ezine dedicated to discovering unusual, alternative ways to generate web traffic. For more surprising web promotion ideas, visit Hugevoice.com or send an email to subscribe@hugevoice.com

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Fire and smoke from Israeli military operations is seen after a strike hit a Hamas security facility in Gaza City, early Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009. Israeli forces pounded Gaza Strip houses, mosques and smuggling tunnels on Monday from the air, land and sea, killing at least seven children as they pressed a bruising offensive against Palestinian militants. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)AP - Israeli shells slammed into Gaza and ground forces edged closer to major population centers Tuesday, taking more civilian lives after Israel ignored mounting international calls for an immediate cease-fire.



Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell, left, listens to House Minority leader John Boehner, right, during a news conference following their bi-partisan meeting with President-elect Barack Obama on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Jan. 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)AP - The Democratic-dominated Congress convenes Tuesday to confront perhaps the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and to grapple with a hugely ambitious agenda set by President-elect Barack Obama.



President-elect Barack Obama, flanked by Treasury Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner, left, and Council of Economic Advisers Chair-designate Christina Romer, meets with members of his economic team at his transition office in Washington, Monday, Jan. 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)AP - President-elect Barack Obama's proposed stimulus package would provide businesses with billions of dollars in refunds on taxes they paid several years ago.



This Nov. 27, 2001 file photo shows retired admiral and former commander of the U.S. Pacific Command Dennis Blair speaking during a news conference in Jakarta, Indonesia. President-elect Barack Obama's decision to fill the nation's top intelligence jobs with two men short on direct experience in intelligence gathering surprised the spy community and signaled the Democrat's intention for a clean break from Bush administration policies. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara, file)AP - President-elect Barack Obama's selection of an old White House hand to head the CIA shows a preference for a strong manager over an intelligence expert.



AP - The European Union calls the sudden and substantial cuts in Russian gas supplies to some member states "completely unacceptable."

Allan Goldstein, a retiree and investor with Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, testifies before the House Committee on Financial Services, Monday, Jan. 5, 2009, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)AP - Two more months of mortgage payments and retiree Allan Goldstein says he'll be broke, just another victim in what may be the biggest Ponzi scheme in history.



AP - Health care continued to take up a greater share of the economy in 2007, as spending on hospitals, doctors and other services increased 6.1 percent to $2.2 trillion.

AP - Want to hear Cameron Crowe's thoughts on winning an Oscar or see how king-sized movie posters are assembled? How about a sneak peek at some of the exclusive exhibitions held at the film academy's Beverly Hills headquarters?

A Toyota assembly plant in Aichi. The Japanese auto giant has said that it would suspend production at all of its domestic plants for 11 days in February and March in response to a slump in sales.(AFP/File/Toshifumi Kitamura)AP - Toyota is suspending production at all 12 of its Japan plants for 11 days over February and March, a stoppage of unprecedented scale for the nation's top automaker as it grapples with shrinking global demand.



Texas quarterback Colt McCoy celebrates as he scores against Ohio State during the third quarter of the Fiesta Bowl NCAA college football game in Glendale, Ariz., Monday, Jan. 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)AP - The Texas Longhorns will be No. 1 on at least one ballot. It belongs to coach Mack Brown. Brown said he made up his mind after Colt McCoy hit Quan Cosby for a 26-yard touchdown with 16 seconds to play, lifting the third-ranked Longhorns to a 24-21 Fiesta Bowl victory over No. 10 Ohio State on Monday night. The stunning strike capped an 11-play, 78-yard drive that took only 1:42.



An Israeli mobile artillery unit fires a shell towards Gaza from its position outside the central Gaza Strip January 6, 2009. Israel moved forces into a southern Gaza town on Tuesday and demanded Hamas be prevented from rearming as a main condition for a ceasefire in an 11-day-old conflict in which hundreds of Palestinians have been killed. (Baz Ratner/Reuters)Reuters - Israel moved forces into a southern Gaza town Tuesday and demanded Hamas be prevented from rearming as a main condition for a ceasefire in an 11-day-old conflict in which hundreds of Palestinians have been killed.



President-elect Barack Obama (R) meets with Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) at her office in the Capitol Building in Washington, January 5, 2009. (Jason Reed/Reuters)Reuters - The new U.S. Congress convenes on Tuesday under pressure to deal with a worsening economy by passing a stimulus package that Barack Obama could sign into law soon after being sworn in as president.



The Toyota brand name is seen on a car at a dealership in Chicago, December 22, 2008. (Joshua Lott/Reuters)Reuters - Toyota Motor Corp will shut all its factories in Japan for 11 days to combat a global slowdown that is not only hitting company profits but could, a report says, unleash a wave of social unrest in China.



A shopper walks past sale signs on the first day of the Harrods sale in London December 27, 2008. (Luke MacGregor/Reuters)Reuters - Deep discounts failed to coax consumers to shop in December, but are sure to sap margins and will likely lead to a number of profit warnings when retailers report sales for the all-important holiday month this week.



A worker checks the valve gears in a natural gas control centre of Turkey's Petroleum and Pipeline Corporation, 35 km (22 miles) west of Ankara, January 5, 2009. (Umit Bektas/Reuters)Reuters - All supplies of Russian gas via Ukraine to Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece and Macedonia were halted on Tuesday due to a dispute between Moscow and Kiev over gas prices, officials in Sofia said.



Bernard Madoff is escorted from Federal Court in New York January 5, 2009. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)Reuters - U.S. prosecutors asked a judge to jail accused swindler Bernard Madoff on Monday, saying he sent jewelry and other items worth more than $1 million to family and friends in violation of his bail.



A man has his blood pressure read in downtown Los Angeles July 30, 2007. (Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)Reuters - More Americans are burdened by chronic illnesses such as diabetes and high blood pressure, often having more than three at a time, and this has helped fuel a big rise in out-of-pocket medical expenses, a study released on Tuesday showed.



Former Clinton White House chief of staff Leon Panetta gestures during a break in a televised interview with Larry King for the CNN program 'Larry King Live' March 19, 1998 in Los Angeles. (Rose Prouser/Files/Reuters)Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama has chosen former White House chief of staff Leon Panetta to lead the CIA, which has been widely criticized for harsh interrogation of terrorism suspects, Democratic officials said on Monday.



Smoke billows from fires raging on the edge of Gaza City. Israeli troops battled Hamas fighters in major cities of overcrowded Gaza as Israel spurned appeals to halt a war on the Islamists that has killed at least 580 Palestinians.(AFP/Mahmud Hams)AFP - Israeli troops battled Hamas fighters in major cities of overcrowded Gaza on Tuesday as Israel spurned appeals to halt a war on the Islamists that has killed at least 580 Palestinians.



A woman passes by a gas pipe of the gas-compressor station in the small Ukrainian city of Boyarka, near Kiev on January 4. The situation with deliveries of Russian gas to Europe AFP - The situation with deliveries of Russian gas to Europe "changed very dramatically" overnight and is "getting worse," a top member of a European Union delegation in Kiev said on Tuesday.




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