Omaha daily bee., 1886-10-10
QUEER ADVERTISING SCHEMES
How Omaha Business Men Drop $4,000
Every Year,
SOME FAKES AND FAKIRS.
The Magic Lantern-The Automatic
Clock-A Hotel Blotter Which
Proved to be Swindlc,
Etc, Etc.
oME FAKES AND FAKIRS.

Etc, Etc.
Written for Tic omaha Sunday Bcc.1
Omaha is more thoroughly work ed
for advertising than any other city of its
size in America, believe" said an old
advertising man to II reporter the other
day. 81 don't mean in the way of legiu
mate newspaper advertising, especially.
Omaha business men throw away $50, 600
every year on little advertising schcm cs,
or fakes to use a slang phrase, which
in ninety nine cases out of one hundred,
are highly Improbable
This statement is probably true Omaha
merchants, not content with legitimate
newspaper advertising, are continually
investing their cash in assisting the
scheme of some genius who has discoy-
cred new and wonderful method of
reaching the eye and ear of the purchaS.
ing public. 1t may not be unntcrcsting
to recount some of these methods.
One OF the most ingenious and novel
ideas is that of the magic lantern adver-
tising man, Over two story building on
South Fourteenth street is a large piece
of canvas stretched on a frame about tf
teen feet square. Every night, or as often
as convenient, magic lantern is made
to throw upon this canvas inscriptions
and pictures describing the business of
different merchants, who have invested
in the scheme. The slides used in the
lantern are purchased by the merchants
at II good, stiff price. An advertisement
on the canvas Is allowed to remain for
five or ten minutes when it is succeeded
by another The idea is II clever one,
and as general thing the nightly eXhi-
bition attracts the attention of large
number of people.
Another ingenious idea is the clock
scheme. A large number of Omaha
merchants have invested literally in this.
The clock is one of the ordinary kind,
but is provided with an attachment, by
means of which, at given intervals, II
long roll OF paper Is made to revolve,
displaying through glass case, different
advertisements in succession. Quite Il
number OF these clocks are to be found
IN the different hotels and business houses
of the city.
Closely akin to this scheme is the look
ing glass advertisement in which some
Omaha men have invested consider
able money-and, sad to say, have been
badly bitten. A slick stranger struck the
city some time ago and worked this
scheme to perfection. He secured a good
ly number OF advertisements to be placed
around a mirror to be hung in the depot
waiting room. The advertisements were
duly paid for and the mirror was hung.
In Il day or two it mysteriously disap-
peared. The smooth stranger had car
RED it off to some other place.
On Farnam street there is to be seen a
large cylinder plastered with advertise
ments, each about four inches long and
two wide. The cylinder is kept IN mo-
ton during the day by means of sys-
tenn of machinery, and in this way its
contents are constantly before the eyes
of the passing pedestrians.
Then again there is the blotter for the
hotel writing desk, on which considerable
Omaha money has been spent. These
blotters are filled with different adver-
tisements, which are inserted at COM
paratively small cost. A dishonest vara-
ton on this scheme was practlced by
sharper who drifted into town about six
months ago. He secured large piece of
card paper, which was neatly dia-
grammed into small squares, called ad-
vertsing spaces About one half of these
were filled with the advertisements, writ
ten in pencil, of different business men
who had agreed, as he alleged, to 90 into
the scheme. He took this diagram to
prominent merchant and offered to sell
him half the whole thing for $50. He ex-
planned that he was in 4 hurry to leave
town, because he could make more money
in larger cities, and would sell the mer-
chant the right to print the blotters, with
bis own "ad" in it, and collect the money
for the other advertisements, Sl00 in all,
for the sum of 500. 1t would cost $25,
the sharper reasoned, to print the blot
ters and distribute them. The merchant
after collecting the money for the other
lads" which had already been secured
would then have clear profit of $25, to
say nothing of having the benefit of
large advertisement in the blotter itself
The victim swallowed the bait whole,
paid the $50, and discovered an hour af
terward that he had been woefully I'M
posed upon. None of the merchants whose
advertisements were outlined on the
sample blotter had ever seen the sharper,
much less promised to patroniZc the
scheme.
A few weeks ago, a man from CincIn-
natl came to Omaha and succeeded in
securing some lirst-class advertisements
for the outside cover and hylcaves of a
book of counting. house tables which he
proposed to sell through Nebraska. Each
patron got book, which contained his
advertisement according to contract and
paid over the money to the swIndler who
at once left the city without circulating
another copy of the book.
Another sharper some time since Sc
cured large amount of money here for
new morning paper which, as he said,
he was about to start in Omaha. The
paper was called the Omaha Times and
consisted of one very small issue. Before
the second issue was due the business
manager collected all the money he
could on his advertisements nearly all of
which wore contracted to run six months,
and fled.
And SO the category might be contn-
ued. The hotel register, the city map,
the church directory, are each made
nucleus for mass of advertisements
which are wrung out of Omaha business
men by smooth gentlemen whose pow
ers of persuasion would be equal to the
task of proving to the unpreiudiced mind
that black cat was white dog. And,
In all probability these countless schemes
of advertising will be patronized as long
as Omaha continues to grow and flourish.
And, rs each one successively becomes
ancient and threadbare, new ones, it is
safe to say, will be found to take their