The one thing that might have allowed convicted felon Bernie Madoff to run his phony hedge-fund business even longer in the face of an eroding stock market is successful advertising. With his reputation — which was sterling right up to the moment it was tarnished — the public would have beaten a path to his door if Madoff had been allowed to roll out the general welcome mat as his crisis was coming to a head. You could also argue that public advertising would have led to scrutiny which might have uncovered the whole scam sooner. More on MarketWatch here.
