Kranz On Copy: Insights and answers on copywriting and writing copy

I got this in the mail today: a double-window envolope that revealed what was obviously a computer-generated check. In case I missed the point, the envelope teaser said, "CHECK ENCLOSED."

I didn't recognize the return address on the check/offer, so I suspected that this was a clever direct mail tactic. But once I opened it, my respect for the mailer's ingenuity was overwhelmed by my disgust.

The check is small -- it amounts to $3.25 -- but it is indeed real. Here's the catch: in small print on what otherwise looks like a legitimate check stub, it reads, "By cashing this check you are authorizing withdrawals from your checking account."

Let's be clear on this. Not only does cashing the check initiate a contract for YP.com's "internet advertising package" (which would be sleazy enough), it actually gives them permission to make direct withdrawals from your bank account. A careless recipient of this "offer" could pay a high price indeed -- to the tune of $27.50 for nothing more than a listing on an obscure Internet yellow pages site.

Yuck. This is direct mail sleaze at its worst. As a proud practitioner of honest direct marketing, this kind of practice makes me sick. If you agree, feel free to share your disgust directly with them at their customer care e-mail contact address.

What do you do when you're working from a perceived disadvantage? Deny it? Run and hide? Hope no one sees it?

Or raise it triumphantly like a flag?

That's what Smuckers did very famously with its awkward name. Remember, "With a name like Smuckers, it has to be good"?

Take a look at the website of fellow copywriter Neil Sagabiel. Based in a small town in Virginia, Neil might have been frustrated by the prejudice that favors big city copywriters as "the real thing." Instead of hiding his headquarters, Neil celebrates it, making his Blue Ridge Mountain town the centerpiece of his website and his brand.

Brilliant! In one stroke, Neil's flipped a prejudice on its head and given himself a memorable distinction among a crowded field of competitors.

Are there potential "weaknesses" in your brand you can turn into powerful strengths?