And now we will tell you how Phineas Barnam managed to get rich. This story is completely true and taken from the memoirs of F. T. Barnham himself.
We quote it word for word.
“I have always taken advertising seriously. Advertising is a true art. And not just print advertising, which I have always resorted to and to which I owe my success in life. No, I believe that you need to be able to present any circumstances and thereby turn them to your advantage.
For a long time I was tormented by an obsession to glorify my museum at all costs, to make it the talk of the town for the whole city. I grabbed every opportunity for this. At first, without any system, so simply, by intuition. And, I dare to assure you, she never cheated on me. Later I developed an exact science on this matter, but at first I acted on a whim, and very successfully. For example, I’ll tell you this case. One morning, a respectable-looking, energetic-looking man came to my museum ticket office and asked for money.
- Why don’t you go to work? - I asked him. - Then you would have money.
“I can’t find a suitable case,” the man answered. “I would take any job for one dollar a day.”
I handed him a quarter.
“Go get some food and then come back,” I said. “I’ll offer you a simple job for a dollar and a half a day.”
When he returned, I gave him five very ordinary bricks.
“Now you need to do the following,” I said. “You will place one brick on the sidewalk where Broadway and Ann Street intersect. You will place the second one near the museum. The third is diagonally from the museum on the corner of Broadway and Vasey Street, next to Esther House. The fourth is in front of St. Paul's Cathedral. And with the fifth in your hands, you will walk with a quick, businesslike step from one brick to another. Put one down, take another in return. But not a word to anyone! No questions and answers.
- But why? — I couldn’t resist asking my new employee.
“Don’t let that bother you,” I answered. “Your job is to follow my instructions and remember that for this you will receive fifteen cents an hour.” Suppose I am having fun like this? You will do me a great favor if you pretend to be as deaf as a wall. Be very strict, dignified, don’t answer anyone’s questions, don’t pay attention to anyone, and follow my instructions exactly. And every time the clock on St. Paul's Cathedral strikes, head to the entrance to the museum. There you present this ticket, they will let you in, and you will decorously go around the entire museum hall by hall. Then you will go out and start doing the same work.
“Okay,” the man agreed, “I don’t care what I do, as long as I make money.”
He placed the bricks in their places and began his walk around.
Half an hour later, no less than fifty people were staring at his mysterious manipulations with bricks. Maintaining a military bearing, with a measured step, he strictly kept his course from brick to brick.
- What is he doing? Where are these bricks from? What is he running around in circles like crazy? - Exclamations rained down from all sides.
But he remained completely unperturbed.
By the end of the first hour, all the sidewalks in the neighborhood of the museum were crowded with a crowd of curious people trying to figure out what the dog was buried in. And my new worker, having completed his rounds, headed, as agreed, to
museum There he devoted a quarter of an hour to a thorough inspection of all the halls and returned to his bricks.
And this was repeated every hour throughout the long day until sunset. And every time my worker entered the museum, a dozen onlookers, or even more, also bought tickets and followed him in the hope of unraveling the meaning of his actions in order to finally satisfy their curiosity.
The happiness lasted for several days. The number of curious people grew, their entrance fee to the museum had already far exceeded the salary of my employee. But then, alas, the policeman, whom I had initiated into the secret of my enterprise, complained that because of the crowd of onlookers on the streets around the museum it was impossible to pass or pass, and I would have to recall my “brick maker”.
This insignificant episode amused everyone and caused a lot of talk, but most importantly, it served as good advertising for my museum, not to mention serious material support. But that's not all. Since then, Broadway has become the busiest street in New York."
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru