Culprits Deserve Profit Starvation

Dear Ann Landers: I am writing about the letter from a woman who signed herself “Aiming for a Size 10 in New York.” The writer said she had received an advertisement for a weight loss program clipped out of a newspaper, in a plain envelope, with no signature and no return address. Scribbled across the clipping was the message, “Mary, try it. It works.” She was terribly hurt that some so-called friend would send this to her.

I, too, received a similar clipping in the mail and couldn’t figure out who among my friends would be so crude. I looked at the envelope and saw that it was mailed from San Diego. I don’t know a soul in San Diego. To add to the “mystery,” I have never enrolled in a weight loss program nor have I ever taken diet pills.

Ann, please tell “Mary” she had been targeted by some con artists. She’ll feel relieved. - One Who Didn’t Bite in Springfield, Mass.

Dear One: I’m glad you didn’t bite. Neither did several hundred other readers. Keep reading for more on this slickly contrived gimmick.

From Memphis, Tenn.: I am 5 feet 6 inches tall and weigh 104 pounds. For years, I’ve been trying to put on weight. I eat ice cream, drink malteds daily and slather butter on my mashed potatoes. Nothing works. Imagine my surprise when I received a handwritten note attached to a newspaper clipping describing a weight loss program. The following day, a neighbor of mine received the identical mailing from an “anonymous friend.” Looks like a racket to me.

Spokane: I, too, received an advertisement for a weight loss program “clipped” from a newspaper. On it was written, “Shelley, try it. It works.” It was mailed from Santa Ana, Calif. I was baffled. Then, I suddenly remembered that years ago I foolishly sent for a so-called thigh-reducing cream. I now know that once you get on “a list,” you never can get off.

Torrance, Calif.: “Personalized” direct mailings that call people by their first names are the newest gimmick. I have received such letters trying to sell me vitamins, youth potions, fat burners, sex energizers, just name it. They should be outlawed.

Traverse City, Mich.: Anyone who has ever signed on to a weight loss organization or sent for information about a weight loss product gets on a list. Those lists are sold. Once you’re on it, it’s for keeps.

Gary, Ind.: The newest weight loss gimmick is a “new discovery from Asia.” You can eat anything you want (drink alcohol, too). It’s a cream that has a secret ingredient that prevents fat from building up, whatever that means. I’ll bet your correspondent got one of these clippings in the mail, too. I did.

Louisville, Ky.: I was approached by a man at our state fair to register for a free vacation. Guess who sponsored it? You’re right - the weight loss program. I’m sure I’ll be getting one of those clippings in the mail any day now.

Florence, S.C.: That so-called newspaper ad didn’t come from a newspaper. I received one and looked at the back. There was no sign of origin.

Norfolk, Va.: I am 81 years old and a size 10. Over the last three years, I have received four of these things saying, “Agnes, try this.”

Dear Readers: You have just seen a small sampling of what I have been receiving for several days. I hope I have opened a few million eyes today - and put a serious kink in what appears to be a very slick bit of misleading promotion.