In Praise of Ballyhoo
P. T. Barnum once said, “Without promotion, something terrible happens: Nothing!” Barnum knew promotion. He used the social media of his day, the word-of-mouth of a thousand excited kids triggered by a couple advance men and a few handbills, to build anticipation for events featuring the “Fiji mermaid,” General Tom Thumb and Jumbo the Elephant. Our young democracy ate it up. Today, we’re quick to laugh at the “gullibility” of P. T. Barnum’s customers, rubes suckered in by “obvious” hoaxes like the Cardiff Giant. But history records few cases of customers complaining or demanding their money back. Why?