The advocates of regulation pay lip service to the importance of advertising in funding online content and services but don’t seem to understand that this quid pro quo is a fragile one:  Tipping the balance, even slightly, could have major consequences for continued online creativity and innovation.

Who is this handsome young man and why does he have “Mr. Yogato Stamped Me!!!” on his forehead? More importantly, why does he look so darn happy?

Flashback: Earlier this week, my partner Michael (pictured) and I visited Mr. Yogato, a frozen yogurt shop in Washington’s Dupont Circle neighborhood which describes itself as “the FUNNEST yogurt experience you’ll ever have.”

Apart from serving exceptionally tasty frozen yogurt and letting customers play a vintage Nintendo, Mr. Yogato is famous for the eight “Rules of Yogato,” which offer discounts if users achieve certain feats, including:

• Answering devilishly difficult trivia (10% off—or extra if you fail)
• Reciting the Stirling battlefield speech from Braveheart in a great Scottish accent (20% off)

But the best discount, which Michael does every time (unless I’m there to help identify, say, countries that end in ‘L’), is offered for wearing the Yogato stamp on your forehead. Being stamped is, of course, almost as much fun as singing along to “Mr. Roboto” if you’re lucky enough to hear that played while you’re in the shop (10% off).  But the real fun is in engaging passersby on the street about the icy-sweet joys of Yogato. It’s also, of course, probably the most effective advertising Mr. Yogato could ever want.

So, the next time you hear Adam Thierer and I talk about the benefits of advertising, especially online, just remember that while there is no free lunch (nor free frozen yogurt), there is discounted frozen yogurt.  It’s a simple, obvious quid pro quo:  10% off in exchange for spreading the Gospel of Yogato. Continue reading →

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