An opinion poll. I think this is one of the tackiest bits of fundraising for wildlife conservation, I have ever come across.
What do you think? Or is there something even tackier?
I have nothing against cuddly toys, but in this context, I do wonder if pursuing such blatant consumerism is the best way of saving wildlife.
Any ideas?
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Not tacky - just not targeted to you, John! I imagine lots of kids would love this as a birthday or Christmas gift.
ReplyDeleteThe comment about targeting is so percipient and I think it is an example of how divorced the majority are from the real world and it is terrifying.
ReplyDeleteSorry, but both of you seem to have missed the point. Targetting me with a suggestion of cuddly toys was just about the biggest PR mistake they could make. If you are going to sendout fundraising requests, they should be targetted and not random. Like a punt-gun, they may kill a few ducks, but they will also maim and injure a huge number. I am one onf the maimed.
ReplyDeleteThey are pretty awful cuddly toys, which doesn't help. But I agree that they are not targeted at you. Were you personally targeted? Are you sure this is like a punt gun - only killing a few but maiming many? Such mailshots must be successful, or they won't be used. Presumably there must be enough takers for Viagra for randomly targeted Spam to be worthwhile. To continue your analogy, most ducks fly away unharmed, and most of us just bin the spam without a second thought.
ReplyDeleteNo it wasn't spam, so not like viagra. It was a mailing list I signed up to.
ReplyDeleteIt is horrible - sadly given the amount of money donated or left to donkey sanctuaries and the like (always in the top 10) conservationists have to stoop to this level.
ReplyDeleteI was considering an adopt a godzilla project for WDM - 'if we can't find a 100 foot tall fire breathing monster to blow up parliament on your behalf, we'll get tim to write a stongly worded letter instead'
unfortunately my project got shelved.
If you received it through a mailing that you signed up to then I imagine the thinking was that you might have a grand child that might like this sort of gift.
ReplyDeleteOr, as Robert said, perhaps it wasn't specifically targeted; many organisations and companies seem to send untargeted mailings, and presumably they are sufficiently cost effective for them to be worthwhile, even if it means losing potential supporters. Sad really.
Pete: Shame your Godzilla project got shelved, I would have very much liked to see it!
Although this present is rather consumeristic, i can't help feeling that you're missing the point of it. It is supposed to help raise money for endangered and near extinct animals. Surely this should be accieved by any way possible?
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