We just visited London last week and found it very strange to see human billboard (holder)s there, as we have no such thing in Germany (at least not that we were aware of). Yes, they do earn money with it but standing there in 40°C is more harmful for their health than the money they earn there (well, unless they do earn a whole lot with it) - at least that is what we thought...

Now this is a funny one. I usually come here to see different stuff from all over the world, then I see a picture and say "but wait, it's exactly like what we have here!" then to my surprise it IS actually we have here since the photo is from my city. People used to call them "sandwich-men" from what I know, although I guess there's a better term.

This kind of job adverstising has been popular for decades here - before it was possible to look for jobs online - so I think that's why it still exists. This is only used downtown (and maybe at some rare spots around the city, although I've never seen it), and most of the offers are for jobs nearby, so I think that's what attracts people too. Historically, people without jobs would go to downtown early in the morning and walk most of the day looking for a job, so having those guys makes it easy for people looking for jobs. Since the city is so big, advertising on newspapers can be quite chaotic... this makes the job hunt a bit more specific to the downtown area.

It's also kinda curious to notice that the holders are always old people. They usually get retired people to do the work. Why they don't just have 4 or 5 standalone billboards with just one guy looking over them is beyond me (not that I wish it, just wondering why they haven't managed to do it like that yet since people are hardly worried about street space regulations or anything like that around here).

Hei Zeh,

Do you know the name of the street in Sao Paulo where this was taken? - I forgot to note down the name.

Jan,

It's "Rua Barão de Itapetininga"; located on what we call "the old center", between the Municipal Theater and "Praça da República" (the "Republic Square").

Also 23°32'38.75"S and 46°38'28.33"W on Google Earth or other global positioning system.

Too bad I hadn't noticed you were visiting the city before (it had been some time since I've visited your site so I only noticed you've been on the country today). I would have loved to have tagged along with you around the city.