There's No Business Like Show Business

Last week, when Fr. John and I were driving through Ongata Rongai in Rift Valley, I noticed a large stage erected along the side of the road. There was a small group of people gathered in front of it, and a few energetic speakers occupied the microphones. I assumed it was some sort of political rally (I pictured Sybill Crawley sneaking out of Downton to attend it), but when I asked Fr. John what was going on, he said it was just a “Roadside Show.” My first reaction was “Ooooh! A Side-Show!”, but this was not a Depression-era, road-side, steam-punk circus attraction (but how cool would it be if those still existed in Kenya of all places?). This was actually a marketing ploy by a local bank, a fairly common occurrence. People whom they are targeting don’t necessarily have access to the internet, and television commercials won’t reach everyone, either. People don’t look at flyers, so they have found that this is the best way to advertise to the general public. The ultimate question is, why didn’t I think of this when I was a Campus Minister?