This voting scheme was not the choice of Baden-Powell, but rather that of the magazine's publisher, C. Arthur Pearson, and many consider the idea to be a cynical marketing scheme designed to increase the sales of the magazine. Baden-Powell himself wrote "There is something in it which I fear will put off some readers of the better sort". However, this did not dampen the enthusiasm of the Scouts themselves. Lists were published in each issue, building up to the event, allowing Scouts to see who was in the top fifty nominees. When the voting had closed, the first placed Scout, F. D. Watson, had gained nominations from over 29,000 "friends".