LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

THE MCMURRY MATTER

Isn't there a saying in the publicity industry, “It doesn't matter what you write, just make sure you spell my name right”? Well, if Richard H. Levey spelled “McMurry” correctly (Loose Cannon, Oct. 15), in the end he did give them the publicity they were looking for.
Doug Greener
MediawiSe-Draft
Jerusalem

Just saw Rick Springfield on tour this summer with Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band. If he's ever in your town, check him out. He does still really rock…but I do get Richard's point.
Bob Portner
Director of Sales
Kroll Direct Marketing
Plainsboro, NJ

A SPIN ON SWITCH DAY

Richard H. Levey certainly has penned yet another thought-provoking masterpiece (Loose Cannon, Oct. 1), and I have a few off-center tidbits to offer.

Service-provider abuse is pervasive and certainly has a direct link to politicians (who actually invented it) — and who, among other things, exempted themselves from any do-not-call legislation, as we will painfully find out during campaign season. Automated messages from politicians are, according to them, the epitome of customer service. The only people politicians really service (other than the “lip” variety) are those who have serious bucks to donate to a campaign.

Are customers sheep? Possibly, but most are far more likely to switch from cable to DirecTV than to vote on Election Day. Our voting numbers are abysmal, and the only candidates liable to raise those numbers are the outrageous ones, like Jesse Ventura and Kinky Friedman (both of whom received campaign donations from some off-center wacko in Highland, MD).

I would like to think that Americans could replace TV with books — or, dare I say it, magazines — but that might increase thought and reduce apathy. And politicians would find a way to spin thought-inducing habits as terroristic to protect their incumbency…which is, of course, patriotic.

Switch Day, if coupled with the election, should refer to corporal punishment, where we get to use a real switch on the pols who remain self-serving.

Now that would get the vote out!
Mark Amtower
Amtower & Co.
Highland, MD

TOM'S LONG LIST OF BUYER BENEFITS

Tom Collins did an excellent job on the York makeover (The Makeover Maven, September).

Based on what I can read of the original ad, York doesn't include one solid “buyer benefit,” as Herschell Gordon Lewis has stated in past columns. Also, reverse lettering is so unappealing to the eye as to discourage readers from reading those wonderful words copywriters come up with. Who manufactures the air conditioner, York or Affinity? There's some confusion in the original ad. And Tom is so right about those ho-hum shots. (The bearded guy also appears in York's TV commercial and all I got out of it was “Man, doesn't he whistle great.”)

Tom's makeover, however, could use some tightening. I initially read the headline as “New York's most advanced…”(which only proves again that, at least in my case, people read in snatches or grouping of words, not one by one). Then I tried to figure out why he hyphenated New York. I wonder if others were thrown off by that.

Tom's paragraphs on the right-hand side could have been stronger, with a more pertinent subhead. For instance, “Economical” is a weak word compared with the strength of the first sentence. “Got an older system? Calculate how much the new Affinity Series can save you…” “Environmentally friendly” can give way to “No ozone depletion!” And “Seven color designs for you to choose from” instead of “Designed with you in mind.”

The makeover's emphasis on the Web site and the color comparisons is to be commended. And I'm glad Tom “introduced” the Affinity Series. “Introduce” is a wonderful word.

This makeover is crawling with “buyer benefits.” Keep it up.
Valentine Chmel
Valentine Chmel & Associates
Honolulu

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