"And Now A World from Their Cool College Sponsors"

“And Now a Word from Their Cool College Sponsors” is a about two young men, Chris Barrett and Luke McCabe from New Jersey, who created their own version of buzz advertising. However, they were actually selling themselves as advertising spaces in exchange for payment of their college expenses. They received offers from over a dozen companies. They chose to be the “spokesguys” for First USA which is one of the nation’s largest credit card companies. First USA agreed to pay each of them $40,000 in tuition, room, board, and books as they entered college in So Cal. Their jobs were to spread the sponsored message of smart budgeting and financial responsibility. They also had to make campus appearances, serve on a student advisory board, and publicize financial tips for students on their website. For doing all this, they also attracted millions of dollars in free publicity. Barrett and McCabe received offers from cell phone services and another to sell mints, but they wanted something that everyone could relate to; that was money and plus the company didn’t want them to sell anything. There were expectations from the company which included them having to wear their First USA gear wherever they made public appearances for them, each had to maintain a C average and also had to adhere to the terms of a moral clause; if they were to misbehave, the deal would be off.  – I think that this was a great idea for these two guys. They were just entering college and wanted to figure out a way to pay their way through. The expectations of the company were not bad and it was an easy way to get a “full ride” to the college of their choice. Plus, they only had to keep a C average, not misbehave, and wear their ‘company clothing’ when making public appearances for the company. I wish I would have thought of something like this.