Chief Marketer Staff

• Loose Cannon: Some Scams Are More Equal Than Others

  Remember the direct response advertisements that used to run in the backs of comic books? In most cases, the promise of the copy and the actual products

• CA Assembly Postpones Vote On Controversial Privacy Bill

  The California General Assembly, mired in debate over Gov. Gray Davis’s proposed $100 billion state budget, has postponed a planned vote on a move that

• BET Drops Infomericals in Favor of Inspirational Programming

  Black Entertainment Television, a cable network geared toward African Americans, will change its lineup on July 1. Infomercials will no longer be part

• Crossover Dreams

  Call it a holdover from his musical career, but Ron Altbach knows how to grab a listener

• GREAT MOMENTS IN WHIPPED CREAM

  ConAgra Foods, Omaha, NE, last week launched a new marketing campaign centered on a contest asking consumers to submit “Real Moments” featuring the brand.

• U.S. Leads World in Online Purchasing: Survey

  The U.S. continues to be the global leader of online purchasing and spending, according to a survey by market research firm Taylor Nelson Sofres.

• DIRECT Listline

  Wall Street One All 53,888 subscribers have paid $125 for an annual subscription to this investment periodical. Nine in ten use an online trading service,

• M&M LEARNS THE WORLD LOVES PURPLE

  More than 10 million consumers from 200-plus countries entered the M&M’s Global Color Vote, which concluded last week when Hackettstown, NJ-based Masterfoods

• Internet Business International Sells Subsidiary

  Internet Business International Inc. has sold its sunglasses direct marketing subsidiary Ace Optics to CRT Corp. for $2 million in stock.

• Mail Stream: A Report on Incoming Direct Mail

  Cyberswim New in the mail is a futuristically named swimsuit catalog for women of all ages and sizes, Cyberswim. While Cyberswim’s Web site offers such