Damart mailer frozen out by ASA

2013-09-03 18_22_08-Damart, the firm which attempts to make thermals sexy, has fallen into the trap of trying too hard to get its mailings opened by disguising them as urgent, official documents, earning itself a stiff rebuke from the ad watchdog.
A mailing campaign, for a prize promotion, was sent from the Damart Finance Department. On the envelope it stated “Confidential for attention of addressee only”, while further down it read, “Your time-sensitive documents are enclosed”.
Inside, the letter stated: “Important… Please ensure that you act within 14 days to be eligible to claim maximum awards. Failure to do so could mean forfeiting the maximum £51,000.00.”
Yet one recipient was unimpressed and contacted the Advertising Standards Authority, complaining that the mailshot was misleading because, firstly, it did not look like marketing, and, secondly, it was not clear when the 14-day deadline commenced.
In its defence, Damart claimed the envelope was clear enough, and, as it was only sent to existing customers – and included a 132-page catalogue – they would have known who it was from.
The company also said it had systems in place to monitor when the mailing was delivered and to check whether a customer responded within 14 days of delivery.
But the ASA disagreed. After ruling that the branding was far too small on the envelope, and the deadline was not clearly explained, it banned the mailshot from appearing again in its current form.
The company joins a long list of companies who have tried too hard to get their mailings opened by using underhand tactics. Healthy Living Direct has had two campaigns banned for using a similar technique, while Cancer Research UK also recently found itself in the dock after a mailshot produced by Rapp was deemed threatening.

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1 Comment on "Damart mailer frozen out by ASA"

  1. Damart gets cold shoulder from ASA for misleading ‘official’ mailshot http://t.co/277Fh3AUhZ #directmarketing #datamarketing #directmail

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