Article: What to do when social media spreads marketing myth; Marketers wrestle with false campaigns, rumors and whether to respond.(NEWS)

Byline: JACK NEFF

James Thatcher is one of the more internet-famous brand managers in Procter & Gamble history.

He was the target of an open letter from a disgruntled consumer about the Always "Have a Happy Period campaign. The letter has had remarkable staying power on blogs and Twitter since it was first published in March 2007, with about 64,500 Google hits and counting (some women also report having been e-mailed the letter several times).

There's just one problem: Mr. Thatcher doesn't exist.

The letter was originally written by a former advertising copywriter for the humor site McSweeneys.net, under the header "Open Letters to ...

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