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Software company's publicity gag goes awry
(IDG) -- It started as a marketing gimmick, meant to draw attention to Inform
AG's security software, in advance of the CeBIT trade fair. But a few recipients
took the German company's direct-mail pitch -- in the form of a blackmail letter
from a shadowy underground organization -- all too seriously.
"We know everything. Follow our directions, or else you're finished. No cops,
no tricks!" reads the letter, which was sent on March 6 to 2,400 potential
customers on Inform's mailing list. The text, in the crooked typeface of an old
manual typewriter, is followed by the rubber-stamp seal of the fictitious "Front
for International Data Protection."
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MESSAGE BOARD |
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| IDG.net INFOCENTER |
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an IDG site |
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Some readers were not amused, said Felicia Krenek, Inform's marketing
director. "About five percent took it seriously," and contacted their company
security departments or police. The public prosecutor's office in Cologne opened
an investigation.
The problem, she said, was that "due to the German Post Office, despite all
our efforts," the second half of the mailing didn't arrive on time. Another mass
mailing in the same style went out on March 8. This one reads, "Come to the
meeting point at CeBIT, Hall 2, at Inform AG ... This is your only chance! Bring
your data to safety!"
"It was mailed on a Thursday, and a lot of people didn't receive it until the
following Tuesday," said Krenek. "We hadn't expected it to take that long."
As soon as the company learned of the confusion, it sent a third letter --
this time apologizing -- to all recipients.
"Please excuse us if we disturbed you. Of course we will no longer use or
send this mailing," it reads, this time in a plain, modern font, under Inform's
own logo.
As for the legal consequences of the gag, Inform doesn't expect to receive
any threatening letters in its own mailbox. "Our lawyers tell us that the
investigation will probably be dropped," said Krenek.
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