Not long ago most advertisements in magazines and newspapers had the firm’s address and sometimes the telephone number.

Friday, April 12, 2002

Not long ago most advertisements in magazines and newspapers had the firm’s address and sometimes the telephone number. For example, the readers knew that the Shyster Sales Co. was located in Bay City, Mich. Their address was an essential part of the advertisement.

Now, within the past few years, there has been a subtle change. Fewer ads are featuring the addresses of the individuals or firms trying to sell us a service or product. What we’re starting to encounter gives real emphasis to the old term, &uot;blind ad.&uot;

To partly prove my thesis about this evolving end in advertising, I conducted a survey based on four full pages of classified advertisements in a recent issue of Popular Mechanics. There was a total of 141 ads divided into 58 separate categories from advertising to winemaking/ beermaking. The most popular categories were Cable TV Equipment (21 ads) and Inventors (14 ads).

Of those 141 ads, only 45 had actual addresses. Thus, my point is already partly made.

If this is the situation, then how does one contact these individuals or firms? After all, they each paid a minimum of $180 per issue &uot;to reach over 9 million prospects&uot; with classified ads in this magazine.

One way is to use toll-free 1-800 telephone numbers. There were 88 of these numbers listed in those ads. This was the most popular method to make contact with the advertisers or some answering service representing several clients. By the way, anyone making these types of telephone calls should be prepared to indicate where the 1-800 number was obtained. This is how the advertisers find out which publication produces the best results.

Second in popularity, and a method which will be even more popular in the future, is the Web site. There were 69 of these www.dot.com addresses in the ads.

Third in popularity for these particular classified advertisers were the 20 telephone numbers with area codes. In other words, these are the calls we pay for, plus some questionable added levies or charges.

Right about here someone could say the four methods I’ve listed to contact those advertisers- real addresses, 1-800 numbers, Web sites and regular telephone numbers – just don’t add up. So far, there have been 222 ways mentioned to contact those 141 advertisers. So, what’s going on?

The answer is super simple. Some of those advertisers are so eager for business that they list more than one method for folks to use to make contact.

Let me emphasize this by using the one Canadian advertiser which lists three of those methods as the prime example.

This individual or firm is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. That’s bad news if the mail is used for the inquiry. The postal rate is higher for letters or cards sent to Canada. Yet, there’s good news because this same ad lists both a Web site and a 1-800 number for those folks on this side of the border to use to make contact.

Seven of the advertisers wanted money for either a catalog or more information. One advertiser suggested folks could send two stamps for his brochure. Still another advertiser wanted an S.A.S.E.

And just what is an S.A.S.E? Those initials are for a self addressed stamped envelope, business or long size preferred.

One of the oddest ads in this classified section of the magazine was for the &uot;World’s Only Tattoo School. Famous since 1968.&uot; There’s a Web site address, plus a telephone with an area code, but no actual address. The last four telephone numbers, incidentally, are TATU (8288), which has to be a mighty clever gimmick being used by this particular advertiser.

However, one could wonder where the campus of this &uot;famous school&uot; is located. I have a hunch it’s in a post office box, or in someone’s home office.

Anyway, here’s a trend in advertising which is changing and worth observing in the future.

Ed Shannon is a Tribune feature writer. His column appears Fridays in the Tribune.