How leather pants can get you a job in advertising

Since we’re AdFreak, we’ll make the lead of this post about how the following anecdote makes for an interesting way to get job offers to be a copywriter. Seems a guy in New York, a veteran seller of flotsam and jetsam on eBay, put up for sale a pair of never worn, ten-year-old Donna Karan leather jeans on the site recently. But, in so doing, he also put a whole new spin on, “Truth in advertising”—rather than sell the jeans on their merits, he decided to sell them on their demerits. He opens with this description: “You are bidding on a mistake. We all make mistakes. We date the wrong people for too long. We chew gum with our mouths open. We say inappropriate things in front of the wrong people. And we buy leather pants.” The post, which you can read here, goes on to outline how they were an impulse purchase inspired by a woman whose name he can’t even remember, and how he “shuffled these unworn pants from house to house.”  Thousands upon thousands of comments ensued, as did, according to a story in U.K.’s Independent, that is now unfortunately in the newspaper’s archive, several offers from agencies. (And yes, he was successful in selling the pants, for $102.50, following 22 bids.

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

October 21, 2005 | Permalink