Actually, the tone of their message is so patronizing it's almost transparent. For decades brilliant direct marketing companies have spent millions of their own dollars developing systems to better market and communicate with their customers and potential customers. They have developed state of the art computer systems to cut waste and increase ROI. It's an insult to our industry to say that they know our business better and can do a better job for the consumer. I wonder if they have read this months issue of Target Marketing where the cover story outlines how Consumers' Union's mission of going "Green" is from the grassroots to the top organizationally?

You know what bothers me? People who pontificate and contradict themselves at the same time. I've gathered a few here on my desktop. Here's one, Andy Rooney.

On Sunday night's 60 Minutues, he was on a tear about catalogs. He lumped his Best Buy and Circuit City catalogs along with Sharper Image, Brookstone and a slew of other noted DM catalogs. He went on to say he never buys from catalogs and never will; but if they keep sending them, he'll keep looking at them. Someone should tell Andy that somewhere down the road he just might have bought something - and that someday he just might again.

If all the direct response catalogs were in fact addressed to him, it's a pretty good bet they got his name off a direct response list. We all know how that happens. If it bothers him so much, how about the DMA's Mail Preference Service? Don't bother me with facts, I've got a segment to write.