An unforgettable, spontaneous flyer run on the streets of Montreal
On 15 July to 18 July 2025, me and my family went on a three-city trip. Montreal was our first stop. I brought some of the flyers I made a few weeks ago, but I had no idea why I did this. I think I loved my keychain and bag charm creations so much that I really wanted people to know about them and, check out my website and of course place orders. I was dreaming of giving out flyers on the streets of the cities we were going to visit. I was excited and nervous.
We arrived at Montreal at noon. There was a power cut in our Airbnb so we were locked out. When the power went back we were all tired. My wife and children had a long nap when we settled in the apartment. I didn't want to waste time, then I talked to myself, why not going out and try to do some flyer giving? Our apartment was located near University McGill. It seemed to be a busy area. This spontaneous idea hit me hard and I immediately decided to have a walk around.
It was weird. I have been working in advertising for almost 20 years designing campaigns and promotions. However I have never tried to go on street and sell a single thing to people face to face. It was like a commander turned into a soldier in the trench and had to do a close-quarter bayonet combat with enemies. I was scared and my mind went blank. I was practicing the words I need to say.
"Hi, please have a look at my website." I said it in different tones, trying to find the most natural way. At the same time I was scanning the passersbys, trying to find someone who was single and without wearing headphone. Then I saw a pretty girl standing in front of a crossing, watching her cellphone, with no earphone, perfect. I walked up, quickly adjusted my smile, turned the flyers 180 degrees so it would face her and reached out. "Hi, please have a look at..." She looked up, smiled at me and gently waved her hands without saying a word. That was a no. I smiled back, "sure, I'm sorry." I didn't remember how I walked away. My head was filled with awkwardness and shyness and regret. I just wanted to give her that piece of paper. I didn't even want to sell anything. Throughout my advertising careet I've always kept in mind that how important the first three seconds are. Ironically this time I was like a total newbie on his first day of work.
As I tried to find a more-attractive-yet-less-hardselling opening for the first three seconds. I came across a young man. He stood on the porch staircase, topless, busy typing something on his cellphone. I stopped and walked up with a deep breath. This time I talked like a small chat. "Hey bro, you wanna have a look at my site? It's about 3d printing, like this." Then I showed him the big version of Chubby Banana I made for my wife ( here is the regular version ). He frowned at first, as if he was trying to understand what I just said. When he saw the Chubby Banana his eyebrows relaxed, and he smiled. I was so happy to see that. In the next five minutes I explained what I did, where I was from and why I was doing this in Montreal. He seemed pretty interested. Finally he kept that flyer and asked for my number. It was beyond expectation. The unpleasantness from the last rejection was gone.
The whole thing seemed to start to run smoother. In the next 40 minutes, before I had a heat stroke, I met 6 people, gave out 6 flyers. I put 3 flyers in mailboxes. So in total, I gave out 10 flyers, and that's pretty satisfying to me. One of the people even invited me to the Otakuthon in August and gave me great encourage and appreciation. I was flattered.
As a creative who has been working in advertising for so many years. For the first time I realized the power of face-to-face marketing. It reminded me the time when David Ogilvy was selling his gas stove ( correct me if I'm wrong ) door to door. At this moment, I felt I came closer to the great man. This is definitely something I will remember forever.