I've Never Met Attention I didn't Like

The title of this post is a lie. I am not a fan of all forms of attention. This lie was for the purpose of catching your attention. Perhaps it worked. I will now explain why I lied to you in a title.
A few days ago while driving home I passed a person sitting in a lawn chair on the sidewalk. They were holding a sign for a furniture sign. It was freezing cold outside. I wondered if this type of advertising was really worthwhile. When I saw the person sitting in the chair with only their nose and eyes exposed from beneath layers of winter clothing, the only thing I thought was that whoever put that sign holder out in that weather must be a creep. Never once did I think, "hmm, furniture sale, maybe I'll look into it." No, I never thought that; rather, I felt sad for the person whose job it was to sit in a chair on the sidewalk in the frigid air. Not Frigidaire, but that probably would have been warmer.
Have you heard the saying something along the lines of "all press is good press." That's the spin that some celebrities put on reality when they behave poorly. Governments do that too. As long as people are paying attention to you then it's all good. In some regards that is true. People like familiarity, so once they become familiar with your name there is a greater chance they will recall you in the future. Maybe someday when I do need a sofa I will think of the furniture store that puts people out on the street with a sign in the freezing cold. I might not recall that I once found their advertising efforts to be akin to torture, I'll simply remember their business name. At that point I will buy their sofa. That's what they want to believe anyway. But not this time. I won't shop there, probably.
I might be the only one that thinks sign holding on the street is inefficient and cruel advertising. I don't care. I still think it. I suppose it isn't so bad if the weather is nice, but I wouldn't want to do it. I hope the people doing those jobs are getting paid well. Does it really pay off as advertising though? That's what I'm wondering. Is it a case of "all press is good press" or does it backfire by making people like me think the store owner is a jerk? What do you think? Comment below if you feel the desire to let the music catch you on fire. Also if you know what song that is referring to.