Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Contesting Takes Its Toll

I thought contesting would be a mild, simple little hobby. However since starting this experiment at the beginning of last month, I've been inundated with urgent emails asking me to please take action or fail my family and destroy their bright futures.

Publishers Clearing House was a personal favorite of mine since I was a little kid and dreamed of Ed McMahon with his wide smile appearing at our front door with a bouquet of brightly colored balloons. Now I'm worried someone from PCH will actually show up at my door, and I'll make sure it's bolted and call the police. An example of their pushy PR-mails is below.

The one email I opened from PCH as an experiment was a maze of instructions. I had to go through four pages of ads, for magazines that I am a sucker to buy, but didn't, and it was so sad, asking me to reconsider, over and over, and are you sures and you are failing your children right now by not opening and responding to this email! 


XXXXX, your Official Document 382 is enclosed! Your failure to act NOW could cost you a Life-Changing fortune ready to be awarded 

Publishers Clearing House will soon take a "Special Early Look" for a winner from Giveaway No. 49OO. And, if the Mcgee number from this very Notice matches the winning number drawn, you will win $1O,OOO.OO A Week For Life this November.

PLEASE BE AWARE that this is the ONLY notice you will receive regarding YOUR forthcoming Prize Number from this Bulletin. TAKE ACTION BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE! (This was one of many untruths from PCH.)

P.S.  the Prize Patrol will personally award a life-changing Prize and the winner will be announced during NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams so the whole country can share in the excitement! 


However, the travel and home decor contests have been fun, with breezy, wistful emails piling up in my account tempting me to places my beat-up SUV can only imagine taking us to and dreamy kitchens that make you want to whip out the butter and start baking your way to a new life.

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