Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-07-25
USE OF HUMAN "ADS"
INGENUITY SHOWN IN DISPLAYS
IN SHOP. WINDOWS.
A Ping Pong Ball Forced by Current
Of Air to Re-
volve.


| From the New York Sun.
More and more ingenuity is being shown
| in the displays in shop windows intended
| to catch the eyes Of passersby. One con-
| Germ in this city. seeking something odd.
| exhibited side by side gold brick which
| had been used by a western swfndler and
| a brick of real gold. valued at $1,000. An
other shop has excited curiosity by simple
means An ordinary ping pong ball is
| placed In the lid of a cheese box. where is
goes around and around impelled. seeming
| ly. by nothing at all. Crowds come and
crowds go and try to fathom the cause of
| the cOursing of the ball.
AS a matter of fact. it is the closest ap
proach possible to humbug perpetual mo-
| ton. On close inspection it may be seen
| that what appear to be ordinary cracks in
| the wooden rim are in reality perforations
| through which a current of air Is forced.
| The air striking the tiny ball impels it for
| ward.
| A pretty device used by big book stores
| to draw attention is the framing of original
| dra wings displayed in show windows S de
| by side with the latest novel, opened on the
| page where the drawing is reproduced.
| But foreign entirely to the tools ordinarily
| used in drug store was upset wheel
| barrow full of candy displayed in the mid
| die of the show window of druggist
"Baby" Alligators
| Not infreqeutnly animals are enlisted. as
| in the case of the baby alligators. to
| attract crowds. Not long ago a drug store
showed a happy young mother terrier and
| her little litter of two cropping puppies.
Common as the sight of a dog and her
youngsters must be to most persons. this
| show window lined from morning to
| night with all sorts of spectators who
| watched with interest every move of the
| handsome mother as she tried q minister
| her babies
| Another frequent exhibit is one of young
| chickens. Often the mother is added to
| TIE brood. But in st cases the hen is
| attacked by stage fright and must be re-
| moved from a show window before she does
| harm to the young ones.
The human advertiser mt generally at
| tracts attention. In perhaps its simplest
| form it consists In hiring a pretty girl to
sit in a show window to illustrate to the
| passing crowds the advantages of a new
| form of comb or the latest style of hair
brush. Or a man with hair reaching to the
| shoulders sits among an array of bottles
| to advertise the virtue of a hair tonic.
| But is Is the surprising or the puZzling that
| draws attention best of all. The man made
| up to resemble a store figure of wax will
draw more of a crowd than any one else
| If he acts his part even but indifferently
| WELL
The Automobile Man.
| For this purpose the face is painted with
| the vivid peach hue of the familiar display
| figure. and, II necessary, a characteristic
dried-out mustache IS added after which
| it remains only to pad the bust a bit awk
| wardly. with an angle here a strange
| bump there. Then the operator is equipped
| to begin business. He stands in the show
| window. assumes a rigid position. and
| thereafter moves neither hand nor muscle,
save only the inevitable winking of the eye
| lids To the crowd the interesting -proposi-
ton Is whether the figure Is real or artifi-
cial
| There is the entire makeup which sug
gests the unreal and there Is the winking
| of the eyes. which is wonderfully true to
| life. That Is the sole problem the crowds
gather to solve. Some of these advertising
artists do their work well that they do
not hesitate to add motions, always stiff
and mechanical. to their display, and in
| that case they are able to earn considerably
more money.
| One mackintosh-manufactu concern
employed a clever woman artist in this line
for a number Of months steadily, and the
effect she produced was novel. At one end
| Of the show window bath sprinkler
suspended. and sent forth h shower of
water on the head of figure incased in a
| macintosh and a rubber hat. made to
| match.
Macintosh Cad"
| 1t seemed at first sight as If the figure
| thus wetted were made Of wax and wound
| with a spring. The cheeks of the face were
| vermiiOn, tho forehead and the temples and
| the chin We're Of waxy wilderness. The
| whole figure swayed slightly back and forth
| in a graceful and yet mechanical manner.
| and only the winkng of large brown eyes,
| made UP at the lids II painted, be-
| trayed the truth. And even after a specta-
| tor satisfied that he was looking at a
| human creature, for many minutes his in
| terest remained aroused in the long cloaked
| figure to determine whether he was looking
| at a man or at a woman.
| The human lad" Is now a recognized
| professional who has come to stay One
| day he may find himself made up as Gu
| ban planter. standing alongside made up
| Cuban belle. to advertise a certain brand
| Of cigars. The next day he may sit astride
| a $40 steed. carrying banner. made up as
| a Turk. and advertising a certain Turkish
| bath That engagement finished, the artist
| may have to procure himself the makeup
| of green cOuntryman. carpet bag, muddy
| boots and a bit of hay to parade up and
down near a railway station to advertise
| his employers, the proprietors Of nearby
| hotel.
| good performer earn anywhere
| from Sl2 to $50 week In this line. OF all
| in this class of work the hardest "ad' to
| procure Is the pretty young woman.