Back off, MTV
Oh. My. God. If I get one more email from MTV or its affiliates, I’m getting on the train and storming their Times Square offices. You hear me, MTV? I’m storming!
The way it all started was when I became, oh so slightly, re-obsessed with Bret Michaels. (My first obsession occurred circa 1987 when Poison was on tour with Ratt.) At the time, I was spending an inordinate number of hours watching Rock of Love in all it’s incarnations, checking in with the extra scenes online, and even writing about upcoming series in this very blog.
Then once, just once I tell you, I entered a VH1-sponsored contest. It was the, “Life As I Know it Vegas Getaway Sweepstakes,” and I entered, “for [my] chance to win an amazing trip to Las Vegas and meet Bret Michaels.” As I recall, the winner of the Life As I Know it Vegas Getaway Sweepstakes got free tickets and backstage passes for Bret’s concert in Vegas - complete with airfare and hotel accommodations - and a guaranteed meet-and-greet with Bret Michaels himself in all his eye-shadowed glory! I mean, who could resist?*
Well, turns out, just for entering you also win a life-long barrage of MTV and MTV sister company spam emails. Read: Viacom Sucks Ass.
Initially, I simply hit the convenient “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of the messages, just like I do with all of my other junk mail. But then, a few weeks later, another MTV-affiliated email would show up. Apparently, the way they get around that “unsubscribe,” “do not spam” and, “I do not want your goddamn correspondance” thing is by cloaking their messages within different promotions.
I’ve gotten emails about the Beatles Rock Band game, the Bieber “Never Say Never” concert video and, most recently, Spike Presents: Deadliest Warrior Live. So, I’ve started striking back.
In February, I sent this reply with the subject line, “Back off, MTV”
Goddammit MTV.
I have been BEGGING you guys to stop emailing me.
I unsubscribe EVERY SINGLE TIME I get an email from you and either you’re ignoring my requests or you’re just tweaking the name of your mailing list and transferring me over.
Please, please, please stop.
Please.
Today when I got the Spike Presents email, I sent this one. Subject line: ”UNSUBSCRIBE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. PLEASE. Re: First-Ever LIVE Episode of “Deadliest Warrior” Today at 10/9C!”
I hate you, MTV. Please stop sending me stuff. I have unsubscribed and unsubscribed and unsubscribed and still you find ways to ignore my pleas and spam me with crap about your crap.
MAKE IT STOP!
Thus far, I have not received a response. I promise, you’ll be the first to know if I do.
*As you can guess, I did not win. Because if I did win, I promise you I’d still be writing about it here instead of bitching about MTV.
August 12th, 2011 at 12:24 pm
my favorite new thing is to reply to the all the nigerian princes who email me about my millions of dollars. i write back stuff like, “sounds cool! i love money!” sometimes they write back and demand my information so i just send them more nonsense. it’s more fun when the spammers reply.
August 12th, 2011 at 12:29 pm
know what’s even more fun? when the spammers are your old pals from high school. actually, that story is good enough for a blog post …