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The BadAds Weblog: January 2001
ISPs in the Pink
Linda just finished writing an article on pink contracts for Wired magazine. Pink contracts are secret spammer-friendly contracts offered by Internet Service Providers in exchange for "risk fees" as high as $27,000. What this means is that if a spammer promises to pay enough, the ISP won't disconnect him for spamming and consumers' complaints about unwanted spam will be deliberately ignored.
One spammer I interviewed claimed to have pink contracts with five major ISPs, including AT&T and PSINet. An associate of the spammer claims to have pink contracts with 14 major ISPs. And the anti-spam organization The Spamhaus Project has just uncovered a pink contract at UUNET (though he's investigating to find out whether this contract had actually been signed).
Technically, these spammers aren't violating their ISPs' acceptable use policies; the contracts don't allow spammers to actually send bulk e-mail through the ISPs' servers, but they do promise, in exchange for the risk fees, not to take down Web sites advertised through bulk e-mail.
Internet Service Providers pretend to be on your side in the fight against intrusive spam, but in reality, many of them are only too willing to sell out your in-box for a buck. And at the same time that they're contributing to the spam problem, two to five dollars of your monthly ISP bill goes towards fighting spam in the form of abuse desk staff and filtering systems. It seems they can have their cake and eat it too.
You can see a copy of the recently-outed AT&T pink contract here.
Don't sit still for this kind of abuse from ISPs. If your ISP is in the list below, please write them a letter to ask them not to support spammers on their system. Tell them that their sales staff should be educated to not intentionally do business with spammers.
To learn how to write a complaint letter, visit our letters page. And if you send a copy of your letter to us at staff@badads.org, you'll have a chance to win a cool advertising-free, logo-free BadAds T-shirt. Remember, the BadAds site isn't there for educational purposes only – its purpose is to help consumers take action against intrusive advertising.
ISPs with Pink Contracts:
PSINet
William L. Schrader, Chairman and CEO
44983 Knoll Square
Ashburn, VA 20147
Phone: 703-726-4100
Fax: 703-726-4200
AT&T
C. Michael Armstrong, Chairman and CEO
32 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10013-2412
Phone: 212-387-5400
Fax: 212-387-5695
Potential Pink Contracts (these companies may be targeted by spammers who have hopes of getting a pink contract):
UUNET Qwest AOL SprintLink Earthlink Cable & Wireless Excite@Home Bellsouth Verio Bell Atlantic/Verizon January 31, 2001
Robert B. Hartnett, President and CEO
22001 Loudoun County Parkway
Ashburn, VA 20147
Phone: 800-488-6384
Fax: 703-206-5601
Lewis O. Wilks, President, Internet and Multimedia Markets
1801 California St.
Denver, CO 80202
Phone: 303-992-1400
Fax: 303-992-1724
Barry M. Schuler, Chairman and CEO
22000 AOL Way
Dulles, VA 20166-9323
Phone: 703-265-1000
Fax: 703-918-1400
William T. Esrey, Chairman and CEO
2330 Shawnee Mission Pkwy
Westwood, KS 66205
Phone: 913-624-3000
Fax: 913-624-3088
Charles G. "Garry" Betty, CEO
1430 W. Peachtree St., Ste. 400
Atlanta, GA 30309
Phone: 800-395-8410
Fax: 404-815-8805
Alan Gibbs, President
8219 Leesburg Pike
Vienna, VA 22182
Phone: 800-486-8686
Fax: 703-905-7099
George Bell, Chairman and CEO
450 Broadway St.
Redwood City, CA 94063
Phone: 650-556-5000
Fax: 650-556-5100
F. Duane Ackerman, CEO
1155 Peachtree St. NE
Atlanta, GA 30309-3610
Phone: 404-249-2000
Fax: 404-249-5599
Justin L. Jaschke, CEO
8005 S. Chester St., Ste. 200
Englewood, CO 80112
Phone: 303-645-1900
Fax: 303-792-5644
Charles R. Lee, Chairman and Co-CEO
1095 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
Phone: 800-621-9900
Fax: 212-869-3265
E*billboards
Do you have a few minutes to spare – say, when you're standing in line at the supermarket or riding in an elevator? Not any more, because a company called E*billboards aims to fill those minutes with advertising.
Here's an excerpt from an ad we saw in this month's issue of Brill's Content:
By being present at the short pauses in their busy day, E*billboards catch your prospects when they have the time and the mindset to pay attention. Places like:
Convenience stores.
Elevators.
Gas pumps.
Newsstands.
Train stations.
In other words, E*billboards forces advertising on captive audiences whenever they might have a few blissful advertising-free moments in their lives.
Don't let this happen! If you want to retain a few ad-free minutes in your life, write to CEO Thomas Pugliese at tpugliese@ebillboards.com to tell E*billboards what you think of their intrusive advertising practices.
January 13, 2001
Washing Your Hands of Ads
When you go to the movies, you're often subjected to commercials before the film you paid to see. "Hey, is that all," says marketers across the land. "Just a few minutes before the start of the film? That means that there are many more minutes when consumers are NOT being targeted by ads! We have to do something about that." Enter FreshAds, free moist towelettes with ad space on the packaging, which are being offered at a popcorn counter near you. This new advertising vehicle recently launched, and the first advertiser to take advantage of it is Jobs.com. If you're bothered by the encroachment of advertising at the movies, write a letter to Jobs.com and tell them what you think. Writing letters is quick, it's easy, and it gets results: Jobs.comPeter A. Gudmundsson, President
6311 N. O'Connor Road
Irving, TX 75039
Phone: 972-444-0333
January 9, 2001
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Get the BadAds Weblog updates via e-mail! We'll keep you up-to-date on news in intrusive advertising, changes to BadAds.org, and new ways you can fight "ad creep."
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Where you draw the line is up to you – but we feel that an ad meeting any one of the following criteria qualifies as intrusive: 1. You can't turn it off. You can close a magazine and turn off the television, but billboards tower overhead night and day. 2. It enters your home without permission. Pardon me, Mr. Telemarketer, may I see your invitation? 3. You're a captive audience. This can be in schools, in movie theaters, at a urinal, or waiting for your receipt at the ATM. 4. It doesn't support anything, or it costs you mon ey. Radio ads support free programming, but you pay, directly or indirectly, for faxed ads and junk e-mail. |
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