On Monday, AArrow Advertising, which has offices nationwide, sent a group of its professional "sign spinners" — athletic types who usually stand in front of a business twirling advertising signs for money — to the university to protest UC Berkeley's plan to build its new $140 million sports training center where 44 trees are planted.

They usually charge for services, but Monday the spinners came out for free with signs that read "Save the Oaks" on one side and "Why 3 Gyms?" on the other.

Ly Hai, a company official who was spinning a sign in front of the grove, said AArrow has donated time to advertise for other causes, such as Barack Obama's campaign and the Save Darfur campaign.
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Best Campaign Innovation: It’s not often that a new gimmick turns up on the local campaign trail. Color LL impressed, because at-large council candidate Dee Hunter has broken ground with his hire of AArrow Advertising—you know, the guys who perform acrobatic flips and twists with arrow-shaped placards. The “Independent Democrat” showed up with three hired-gun sign spinners, who, Hunter says, are on retainer for the remainder of the campaign.

As for what the full-spin zone is doing to Hunter’s bottom line, inquiries at AArrow revealed that the company’s rates are between $35 and $50 an hour.
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In the case of Tony Salazar’s employer, AArrow Advertising, creativity is not only encouraged – it’s required. All employees must attend twice-weekly practices, run by ‘Head Spin-structor’ Salazar, and new hires must show proficiency in a basic list of standard tricks before being deployed to the streets.

“It’s just like football practices,” Salazar says. “We do drills and all that stuff. After you get better with tricks, we’ll put you out on the corner.”

In nearly every art form – painting, dance, music – the community in which it is created has a big impact on its style. Sign-spinning is no different, Salazar says.
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As traffic whizzes by on First Street, Stan Alpert knows he only has a few seconds to capture his audience's attention. So he'll use whatever it takes - the helicopter, the kick flip, the one-handy, the no-handy, the Bruce Lee basic spin. If necessary, he'll even trot out the Bruce Lee extra spin.

As a master of the spinning arts, he uses his skills for the good of his clients.

Alpert is a sign spinner, one of those guys who stands on a street corner with a flat piece of cardboard advertising a business. But don't dismiss him, or many of his compatriots, as a kid with no career stuck in a dead-end summer job. Many are well-taught and earn as much as $20 an hour.
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“People see us as more a form of entertainment rather than an advertisement,” COO Kenny said. “When you see a marketing piece or an advertisement, people think oh I’m getting advertised to, but with AArrow it’s more of an entertainment thing.”

“The most important is that we can make eye contact and smile with anyone,” CEO Durovic said, “and this is a concept that is very international; the eye contact and the smile; just like I can do with you.
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