Posts filed under 'advertising'
On the About-Face web site (that is, on this blog and elsewhere on our site), we talk about a lot of ads and other media that require action from consumers. But when we say “write a letter or e-mail,” what does that really mean? I used to think about what I would say for so long that I’d never write the letters. Those days are over for me, but a lot of people don’t know what to say to these companies. Here are some tips. For an example, check out the comments in the Dairy Queen post.
(If you’ve written a particularly good complaint letter that follows these suggestions, please post it in the comments below!)
How to Write an Effective Complaint Letter about an Ad or Other Media
Opening paragraph
- Say why you’re writing. Specify the ad or other media (use the name of the ad if you know it)
- Write one VERY SHORT sentence about your problem with the ad
- Briefly say what your action is going to be (see below)
Following paragraphs
- Go into more detail about why the ad is problematic for you, for society, for women, for men, for people of color, or whatever. Be productive and descriptive. Do not say “I think” or “I believe” or “I feel” — be strong! Do not go off on a rant, even if you are angry. You will be dismissed as a crazy person if you do rant, and the company will not read your letter or take it seriously.
- Tell them again what your action will be. Always say you will not buy their product until the ad is “pulled” (no longer published, on TV, etc.). Even if you were not a customer before, tell them you were a formerly loyal customer. If you’re planning to stage a protest, say that, but don’t state the date.
- State what the company will need to do to earn your business back. Issue an apology in a press release? Pull the ad from TV/radio or magazines, or take the billboard down?
- Tell the offending company you will spread the word to other customers and to all your friends and acquaintances. Then go send your letter in an e-mail to all your friends, post it on your MySpace or Facebook page, etc. and urge your friends/family to take action too.
- Sign your real name and write your city and state below your name.
Take more advanced action
If you have more time and/or incredible amounts of ire about your ad/media, here are more steps you can take that will make a difference:
- Send the letter/e-mail to the ad agency that created the ad. Find out who the agency was and send them the letter as well. Do not call them. Why? The advertiser (company whose products are being sold) made the final decisions about the ad’s content. It’s hard to tell how much was the advertiser’s doing and how much was the agencies’.
- Use more modes of communication. Make phone calls and write a real, paper letter too (not just an e-mail). Media outlets pay attention to this stuff!
- Send it to the editorial body. If the ad was on TV, send a letter to the TV station or cable channel, and specify the date you saw the ad and what show was on. Similarly, if the ad was in a magazine, pull out the ad and mail it to the magazine with your letter. Send it to the editor-in-chief and also the sales director. (When I was a magazine editor, our readers opinions mattered more than you want to know.)
- Post a flyer on or near the local retail store of the business that details the problems with the ad. Again, use productive communication.
When you’re done
Once you write your super-cool, pointed letter, just save a copy and change it a little each time you come across an ad. Make it easy for yourself to write these suckers!
Why complain in the first place?
Here’s why: It makes a difference, even if you never get a response. When a company’s sales go down, the people at the company wonder why that’s happening. You want to hit them over the head with a hint so they will change their tactics. Also, remember that consumers have the most power over companies, since, as a for-profit corporation, their main concern is — duh — profits. When we don’t buy the products, the companies have less money and thus less advertising power. And, when you raise a stink (even a little stink), companies get humilated, which is usually the only way to get them to change.
Again, I hope you’ll post your greatest letter in the comments below. And let us know other tips that have worked for you!
- J. B.
May 13th, 2008
Courtesy of a tip from Feministing, this ad from Dairy Queen, showing a little girl flirting with a little boy to get him to buy her a hot fudge sundae. Now, maybe my dad would say it’s cute. Or maybe not.
There are so many things wrong here:
1) The little girl seems to know she’s attractive — why else would she assume the boy would buy her a sundae?
2) When the girl says “make it one,” at first I thought it was because she was watching her weight. Is that the advertiser’s intention?
3) An 8-year-old girl is already into courting and flirting. (Not unlike how many of them also know about being “sexy” and “hot”.) Also, she first seals the deal with the boy at the same moment the mother says the word “temptations.” Accident? I think NOT. The advertising agency wrote the script and synchronized it with the commercial’s action.
TAKE YOUR OWN ACTION: I’m gonna go let Dairy Queen know how I feel about this ad that encourages gender stereotypes that encourages girls to be dependent and manipulative. I hope you’ll do the same. Here are some ideas.
- Go to this web page to give ‘em a piece of your mind.
- If you’re a Dairy Queen customer, don’t go there for a while. (Resist!) Or pull the super-gutsy move: Go to your local Dairy Queen, ask for the manager, and tell him/her that you are not buying anything there because of this ad. Heck, fill out a complaint form while you’re there!
- Call DQ Corporate headquarters: (952) 830-0200 (I just checked the number, and yes, a real person answers.)
- Write a real, paper letter and send it to:
American Dairy Queen Corporation Headquarters
7505 Metro Blvd
Edina, MN 55439
We hope you’ll let us know whether you took these actions in our comments below, and what the result was.
- J. B.
May 9th, 2008
Speaking of body image and stereotypes of women, it’s not all about thinness/fatness, is it? Take the Tyra Banks Show from today, April 24.
Black women of various skin shades were on the show talking about whether light-skinned black women have things easier, and the answer seemed to be “yes.” Adding her very sensationalistic viewpoint, one medium-skinned woman said, “I don’t want my son dating dark-skinned girls because I don’t want him bringing home any dark-skinned grandbabies.” Luckily, her 12-year-old son said he hates when she says that, because she comes off as “prejudiced.” And another darker-skinned woman finally told her lighter-skinned sister (and I mean sister, by blood) that she feels her lighter-skinned sister has had the advantage during her life. She asked “When is it my turn to be called pretty?”
These two women are sisters. That’s Tyra on the left.
You can see clips on Tyra’s web site.
And while you’re at it,
here’s an ad that illustrates the skin-color issue pretty clearly, albeit with some ad-speak mixed messages thrown in. We show this ad to teenagers in our workshops and ask, “How does this advertiser want you to feel?” So tell us all, what do you think?
(click to enlarge)
Now, I’m not black, so I have no right to make judgments about how black women treat each other, and I can’t see it from their perspective. Maybe our black women readers won’t want to comment because they don’t want to discuss their community’s “dirty laundry.” But we can all learn something from this struggle. So if you’ve checked out the videos of the show, or you have anything to say on this issue, please post below so we can open up the conversation.
- J. B.
April 24th, 2008
Designer Marc Jacobs is really rubbing we About-Facers the wrong way lately. Following on the heels of his ad showing Dakota Fanning as a Hollywood tartlet and some other ads with dead-looking women and nubile girls laying in the grass, we’ve got the newest in the series: Victoria Beckham in a shopping bag.
In this ad, Victoria Beckham (aka Posh Spice) literally becomes a product to purchase. Never mind the disembodied legs and suggestion of violence. Has she been killed and then put in the bag? or is she about to be taken home and put in the closet?
Accprding to a recent New York Times article, the photographer asked Victoria, “You’re kind of a product yourself, aren’t you?” He reports that “She was, like, ‘Uh, yeah.’ ”
We will give Marc Jacobs one little point for putting the fabulous M.I.A. on display so all can see her greatness. But that’s all. Just one point.
Thanks to Feministing.com (which you should be reading every day!) for the tip.
TAKE ACTION: Tell Marc Jacobs that you think this ad shows women’s bodies, and women, as products, and that you will not be buying his goods any time soon. Go ahead and e-mail these people: Asa Larsson at a.larsson@marcjacobs.com and Renee Barletta at barletta@kcdworldwide.com, and fax 212-966-0782.
And then remember, don’t buy any Marc Jacobs stuff.
For more bad ads and ways to talk back, check out our Gallery of Offenders (brand new update coming soon).
–J. B.
April 14th, 2008
Even the chief executive of Victoria’s Secret thinks the chain may be getting too sexy, according to an article on the Associated Press (AP) web site. This is probably a reaction to the fact that sales have been slipping. I must admit that a sly smile crept across my face as I absorbed that info. Sisters, there’s a major point about capitalism and consumer power here: If we don’t like the message a company is putting out, and we stop buying the product because of it, the company may change its message. Keep that one in mind.
On a personal note, in the last few years, walking by the super-sexed-up mannequins in the Victoria’s Secret windows make me so uncomfortable that I can’t walk in a mall with my brother, father, or hohe auszahlungstrip poker vollversion gratispoker pc game freewarepoker regeln downloadonline 7 card stud spielenwww gratis pokeronline poker macwww poker regeln deno limit texas holdem rule,no limit texas holdem,no limit texas holdem tiponline poker reviewvideo poker casinoplay omaha poker online,strip poker free play online,play poker onlineplay poker,fun game home play poker,play online pokerfree video pokervideo poker softwareplaying poker onlinetexas holdem poker,free texas holdem poker site,free texas holdem poker downloadno limit texas holdem rule7 card stud hi lowfree online poker gameonline poker gamepoker sitepoker oddsvirtual pokeronline poker downloadmerchant credit card services,credit card merchant,internet credit card merchantcard consolidation counseling credit debtbad card credit credit discover,bad credit discover cardfirst premier credit card applicationbank one credit card,bank card credit disney one,bank card chase credit oneaccept credit card merchant account0 application card credit interest,0 balance card credit interest rate transfer,0 interest credit cardamerican airline credit cardcredit card debt statistics,teen credit card debt statisticsc card consolidation credit debt program ?,credit card debt consolidation,card consolidate consolidation credit debt debt dissolveyourdebt.cominstant decision credit cardfree credit card debt management,credit card debt management,card credit debt iowa managementcredit card payment,credit card payment system,credit card minimum paymentwashington mutual credit card servicesbank card credit orchard paymentcard credit free onlinecard credit debt free livingchase credit card home pagebank card credit securedcredit card numbers,card credit discover number phone? ?,change credit card numbercard credit debt help judgmentsecured credit card applicationbest card credit studentshell gas credit cardcard comparison consolidate credit debt uncle without my face turning red. Here’s a YouTube video of what those windows look like.
The rich irony here is that Victoria’s Secret was founded in 1977 by a man who, according to the AP article, was “embarrassed trying to buy lingerie for his wife and hoped to provide a comfortable place for men to shop.”
Heck, I was shopping there 15 years ago and loved it’s little “English boutique” feel with a sexy twist. But when Gisele and the crew came around (and the catalogs, OH the catalogs! Don’t even get me started!), I felt the need to get away from it all.
Let these guys know you support their change back to their roots. Here’s how:
1) Call them at (614) 577-7000
2) Fill out this form to e-mail your comments.
– J.B.
March 18th, 2008
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