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Article: Consumer Tips.(direct-mail advertising, lawn care, new therapy for macular degeneration)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Consumers' Research Magazine
- Article date:
- May 1, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Consumers' Research, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Crafty Mailings
How does one discriminate between legitimate mailings and advertising pitches disguised as legitimate mailings?
Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference. Crafty advertisers use a variety of tactics to create "masquer-ads"--advertisements disguised as something else so that consumers feel compelled to read them.
Although the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) along with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is working to crack down on deceptive mailings (a law was passed in December 1999 which bans advertisers from sending official-looking mailings), many "masquer-ad" ploys fall into a legal grey area, and are difficult to challenge in ...