Critical Thinking and The Mail

Yesterday was my birthday, but I wasn’t born yesterday. Nor am I naïve enough to fall for all the advertising tricks that come my way. This must come as a disappointment to many companies. I got many examples in a single day last week when I picked up the snail mail.

First, let me repeat the assumption that a large percentage of the ads we see must be working to some extent. If consumers didn’t respond to the ads and buy the product, the company would either change their approach to advertising or go out of business. So let’s go to the mail.

The first envelope contains a typical auto insurance ad. It tells me I can save 15% or more on my insurance simply by switching to their company. (The number of discounts they can offer will make my head spin!) But didn’t I just receive a mailing the week before from another company telling me how much I would save with them? Theoretically, someone could keep switching back and forth between companies, saving with each switch, eventually paying almost nothing. That is certainly too good to be true. So this one gets recycled.

The next one is supposedly from my bank offering me a credit card with a 5.99% APR rate fixed for life. I don’t get too excited, because the fine print gives away some additional information. It’s not really from my bank; all my bank did was sell a mailing list with my name on it. The rate shown boldly at the top of the letter applies only to balance transfers during the first 3 months. After that it’s 15% to 24%. They are no doubt counting on the fact that people who already have a balance to transfer will also carry a balance with them and end up pay the higher rate (for life) – along with the possibility of some $37 late payment fees. This great deal follows the insurance offer into the recycling bin.

But wait – there’s more! This one according to the return address comes from “Your Local Office” in a city I am not familiar with. A gentleman working there is saving my free copy of the Medicare Guide. All I have to do is tear off the stub and mail it back telling my age, phone and email – so he can haunt me for the next year? No, thank you! (The actual name of the company is in the fine print at the bottom of the letter where I am informed that it is not affiliated with or endorsed by any government agency.) Out it goes.

Finally, the letter offering me wonderful, affordable health insurance joins the rest.

This is not the first time I have seen these or similar letters. So what could be the reason that these mailings continue? Someone must be responding. Perhaps it is the people who relieve stress by cow cuddling.

That’s right, for only $300 for a 90-minute session, the latest health trend, according to this source, is “snuggling up with a 1,000 lb farm animal to help with your mental health.” One farm in New York “has a program offering the ‘Horse & Cow Experience’ where individuals can spend time connecting with the large barnyard animals.” When it comes to mental health, paying $300 to spend time snuggling with a cow seems more diagnostic than therapeutic!

I wasn’t born yesterday, but based on the mail I receive and the latest health trend, yesterday must have seen a figurative baby boom. If we get drawn in by these, how will we ever start using critical thinking to solve real problems?