LettersReaders or cretins?

AdMedia,  Mar 18, 2004  by David Burke-Kennedy

• E-mail
• Print
• Link

Dear Ed:

It is not at all surprising to learn of the continuing circulation decline of Readers' Digest given that its marketing department continues to treat its readers like cretins.

Having been thankfully free of its mailings for decades since cancelling a subscription, we were recently gifted a sub. Now our household is subjected to envelopes stuffed with some of the most amateurish direct mailings ever to insult one's intelligence.

Nine pieces in the current one; badly written, dishonest in strategy and content, and ludicrous in their lack of logical argument.

Most people will be aware of the variations of the RD theme - the latest refers to a decision (by whom?) to grant three opportunities to win something, that has been submitted for approval (to whom?) and unanimously endorsed by authorised parties (yeah right). In this instance they haven't even got the recipient's name right! Also, Reader's Digest is particularly proud of the recipient's interest in their products and thanks us - when there isn't any interest.

Who does the perpetrator of this rubbish imagine he or she is writing to? I know someone who won't be renewing the subscription when it expires ... and an agency that won't be recommending RD as a medium for advertisers.

David Burke-Kennedy

Communique Publicity

Auckland

info@compublicity.co.nz

c 2004 Profile Publishing Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand, and can not be used without prior permission of the publisher.
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.