I used to look at the logo for the World Wide Fund For Nature and think, awww, it’s a panda, how cute. Not any more. Now I look at it and I see the bear wearing the mask of a burglar. ‘How could I be so heartless?’ I hear you cry, ”What can have happened for you to fall out of love with the panda?’. The answer, dear reader, is street fund raisers, better known as chuggers.
Yesterday, Villiers Street near Charing Cross was alive with orange vested WWF chuggers. I steeled myself as I headed down the street, trying to look busy, pretending to be on the phone, playing all the tricks in the hope of avoiding contact. But no, today I was up against the Bionic Chugger and he took me on. Three times he tried to engage me, the first two I replied, ‘no thank you’ and on the third I blurted out, ‘Chuggers, arrgrrgghhhhhhh!’
I walked on, free from further chugging, when all of a sudden a lady approached me purposefully and for a second I thought, ‘uh oh, I shouldn’t have dissed the chugger – this person’s probably a life member of WWF and I’m about to get my smackdown‘ – did you see what I did there 😉 But I needn’t have worried, the lady spoke kindly with me, shared my frustration and then we parted company, laughing about our shared experience.
But the truth is, it ain’t funny. I see chugging as damaging to a brand. It’s intrusive and to me at least, it feels unwelcome. But I’m left thinking it must work for these organisations or they wouldn’t do it – would they? So today my search is for people sympathetic to and supportive of the humble chugger. Is that you? Please let me know.