Ironic spam

[ultrafilter]

So I just got a piece of mail extolling the virtues of "targeted direct e-mail" for the small business owner. I'm not a small business owner, so I guess they're not targeting very well.

This leads me to wonder how well the technique of "targeted direct e-mail" works if the people trying to sell it aren't even using it.

In a statement dripping with irony, it claims the following:We'll provide you with the tools and training to grow your business in a safe and ethical manner.Now why would I ever trust the ethics of spammers?

Of course, there's the obligatory "this is not SPAM" paragraph at the bottom. But they take it one step even further, with the claim below:We strongly oppose the use of SPAM email and do not want anyone who does not wish to receive our mailings to receive them.Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

<sigh>

[kniz]

Many years ago I sat in a man's office and right back of him was a framed quote about an "honest businessman". That day I learned never to trust a man with such a quotation on his office wall.

[Geek Mecha]

Heck, I just got a spam message dated March 14, 1997. I wonder if the company's still in business.

[JadedNaive]

I like spam for life insurance with the subject: "Who Benefits From Your Death?" I suppose it's for the suicidal who want to help their families, but then, why would an insurance company want to insure such a person? :rolleyes: Some things I'll never understand.

[sewalk]

Originally posted by ultrafilter
So I just got a piece of mail extolling the virtues of "targeted direct e-mail"

Yeah, targeted like a shotgun. As we used to say in the Army, "spray and pray".

[Pnuk Guy]

yeah, but if you were a small business owner looking to grow in 'a safe and ethical manner'(???), then you'd be really impressed at their ability to target and deliver just what you were looking for.

If you throw enugh shit at a wall, some of it's bound to stick.