APPEAL TO 'INNER IDIOT' PAYS OFF FOR 'MAD' MAG: TIME WARNER HUMOR TITLE TRIES DIRECT-MAIL PUSH TO DRAW READERS.

Advertising Age, November, 1998 by Krol, Carol

When Mad magazine asked some 250,000 potential subscribers to "Get in touch with your inner idiot," 16,500 of them actually did.

That was the pitch delivered in the humor monthly's first direct mail campaign. The effort, mailed in September, produced a 6.5% response rate in its first three weeks. That's a strong showing in the direct marketing world, where a 2% response is considered successful.

"It proves there's a demand out there for a humor magazine that takes no advertising," said Daniel M. Brown, director of business development and mass-market sales for Mad, published by Time Warner's Warner Bros. unit.