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August 28, 2003

Sneakier and Sneakier

What's worse than finding an ad in unwanted places? Having a marketer tell you that the ad isn't intrusive because you asked to see it.

Unfortunately, businesses do this all the time, making it the customer's responsibility to avoid becoming an ad magnet. Subscribe to a magazine, and the publisher will sell your name and address to another; fill out a warranty card, and the manufacturer will send you "valuable" coupons for other merchandise; shop at stores like Toys R Us and Linens 'n' Things, where the cashiers ask for your phone number as if they have a right to it, and your mailbox will fill with catalogs and notices of special sales events.

Alert BadAds readers have submitted two new instances of sneaky marketers who have found ways of hitting us with ads after receiving our "permission" to do so. First, Mike C. forwarded the following message from a co-worker:

"This is to all of you that signed up for the 'do not call' law. This week I received a card in the mail that said, 'Vote for your favorite cola – Pepsi or Coke – and receive a complementary 12 pack.' At the bottom of the card there is a VERY small statement that says, 'By completing this form, you agree that sponsors and cosponsors of this offer may telephone you , even if your number is found on a do not call registry or list.'

"This REALLY upset me and I just wanted all my friends to be aware of this way to get around the 'do not call' la w!! Just think how many people will send this in and their 'do not call' registry will be NO GOOD!! The company's name is MARKET SOLUTION. I think this is just one sample of what we will get in the future, so READ EVERYTHING before you SIGN AND SEND."

Even after you join the "do not call" registry, any company that has a "prior business relationship" with you can still phone for up to 18 months, unless you specifically tell them to stop, and this loosely-defined relationship can be established by nearly anything you do to contact the company.

According to Snopes.com, other companies are trying this sneaky tactic. For example, if you register for the Liquid Soap Company's Ecology First Sweepstakes, the rules state, "By completing this form, you agree that sponsors and co-sponsors of this Sweepstakes may telephone you, even if your number is found on a do not call registry or list." You can send your complaint to lsp@liquidsoapproducts.com.

As another example of sneaky advertising, BadAds reader K.L. offers this story of marketing woe:

"You know those cool new car radios that display song titles and artist information on the LCD display with particular radio stations that provide the 'information' service? Clear Channel Communications radio stations (among others) have been selling advertising to the car radio's LCD display!! I saw scrolling ads and phone numbers for a local florist, and a couple other businesses.

"Clear Channel made it extremely difficult to find someone to complain to. They of course blew me off. When Toyota called to ask how I liked my new car, I told them about it, but of course they never called back as they had promised to do. I asked them to tell me how to disable the transmitted text display, but they have not responded."

Ouch – where you see a cool use of technology that provides useful information, marketers see only another tool to subject you to the "information" they find important.

Please contact Clear Channel's radio PR person, Lisa Dollinger, at lisadollinger@clearchannel.com. To complain to Toyota about their use of advertising radio displays, fill out their contact form.

Anyone who can help out K.L. – or who has intrusive advertising stories of their own – is welcome to e-mail us. We'll post these on our feedback page so that others can learn from your sob stories.

August 18, 2003