Imagine Yourself Homeless

by Shannon Moriarty · 2009-04-06 20:14:00 UTC
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The message is simple: Before you turn away, put yourself in my place. If you live in the LA area, you may see these faceless, life-size cutouts popping up in LA's upscale shopping centers. The images are designed to make shoppers on the prowl for Fendi and Dolce stop and imagine themselves homeless, even if just for a fleeting second.

Here's what the blog Trends Updates has to say about this ad campaign:

Los Angeles has 70,000 homeless people on its streets. For this campaign some of these homeless people were asked to write the message on a blank card board along with the website address of Weingart Homeless Center. They were photographed holding these placards. These images later became life size cut-outs. The faces were removed and these realistic card board cut outs were placed in upscale shopping centers. It was just impossible to ignore these faceless homeless.

The campaign is sponsored by Weingart Homeless Center in LA.

Perhaps I'm skeptical, but I find the presence of real, actual homeless people suffering on the streets much more compelling than this particular campaign. Sure, the concept is unexpected and inventive. But in a city like LA, with its astronomical homeless population, I fear these cardboard cutouts will just blend right in with the real humans living on the streets.

Besides, I don't think there needs to be a narcissistic hook to get people concerned about homelessness. Isn't the issue compelling enough?

Do you think this marketing campaign will do more than entertain tweens with camera phones?

Shannon Moriarty has worked in various homeless shelters and service organizations around the country. She is a graduate student studying housing and urban policy at Tufts University.
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