Men and Maxi Pads

So my wife went to a baby shower today for one of my sisters-in-law. My Mom, many years after I have left the nest, still feels compelled to bring all the junk mail she receives, addressed to me, to us when we see each other. I have let her know it is okay to throw it all away, but she refuses, she must give the junk to us - like we do not get enough at home.

So today she got a real laugh, as did all of the female members of my family, as she gave Beth one very special piece of junk mail at the baby shower - a piece of mail addressed to me, at my mother's address, containing a free sample of Stayfree Ultra Thin maxi pads. Yes, that's right, Jacob Leffler received a free maxi pad in the mail - to utilize to convince me that it would be the best thing ever for my "moderate to heavy" period. After all, once I used this product, they are sure I will switch to their brand of maxi pads and be a faithful customer for life - or until menopause. Go ahead, get the laughing out of your system now.

But wait!! They are sending these samples of pads to men. Reverse psychology to reach the females in my life? I seriously doubt it since it was sent to not only the wrong sex, but also the wrong address!

Someone needs to let McNeil-PPC, Inc. (good luck getting on their web site - it timed out each time I tried to get on) know that sending direct mail, which houses a free sample for Stayfree Ultra Thin pads to a man no less, who at the last time I checked, does not experience periods, is a pretty good sign that the most basic of marketing tasks is not being executed properly.

This is just a microcosm of the poor direct to consumer marketing that runs rampant in today's push-more marketing and advertising environment. The company that is front and center as the vender to McNeil for their direct mail is RedPlum.

Note to McNeil and RedPlum - how much money are you wasting to not only send out direct mail, but free product to wrong addresses and completely off target individuals?? How many men do they know named Jacob?? This is a great indication that their databases rarely, if ever, get scrubbed, and the sad thing is McNeil is paying a lot of many to mail out tons of product that will ultimately get thrown in the trash. Moreover, any female who is part of this experience, and the actual target audience - in this instance - my wife and all the female members of my family, no less than ten, will look at the product as a joke.

I am all for free samples, when they are relevant in some way, shape or form. I noticed on other non-McNeil sites (web sites that actually worked) that McNeil is owned by Johnson & Johnson, who also makes and distributes Tylenol. Next time please send me some free Tylenol to help rid me of the pain I suffer from experiencing such poor marketing execution.