James L. sent me the following story:
Greetings! This was weird. Before work, someone came to the front door (getting a large barking fit from my dogs), left a package on the porch, and departed. I figured it was one of those deliveries where they don't leave it in the mailbox but you don't have to sign for it. I thought it was a delivery for Mom, but it turned out to be a generic promotion for auto washing, complete with coupons and business cards. So, what was odd about this (and worth telling you)?
All the car stuff was tucked into a copy of 50 Shades of Grey.
Yup, they gave a free copy of the book (used — the sticker was still on the front) to try to encourage folks to get their car washed, waxed, etc. This seems very strange: There's no erotic scene(s) in the book revolving around cars, and there was nothing from the company linking to the book to the service. (Best I could come up with: “Enjoy a dirty book — and a clean car!”) Since this wasn't addressed to me or Mom, my theory is that someone either got a lot of used books or heard how popular 50 Shades was, and opted to pass out the books to try and get some business. It didn't work for me — but it seems like a very strange combo.
That has to be one of the strangest methods of promotion ever. A used copy of this book? I wonder how much they paid for it! And whether all the neighbors got a copy, too? So very strange!
If someone was going to drop a book full of coupons on your porch to advertise a local business, which book do you think would be the best one to use? 50 or something else?
