Last month Chipotle put out a call for customers to forward 500,000 junk email messages to nojunk@chipotlejunk.com, pledging to donate $50,000 to charity in return. Now the maker of foil-wrapped burritos has upped the ante, asking for another half million male enhancement and fake dating site queries in order to hike up its donation to $100,000.
School lunch nonprofit The Lunch Box benefits from Chipotle’s benevolence. The charity says it provides healthy meals to kids, meaning most likely it does not give them Chipotle’s humongous burritos.
Chipotle’s Invitation: Send Us Even More Junk [BusinessWire]
(Thanks, Lisa!)
Previously: Send Junk Email To Chipotle, Feed Children
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That is a neat way to get donations. I approve and am willing to forward the contents of my spam folder.
I don’t understand. Why have people forward junk mail?
Why not just donate the money?
I agree. Or why not just send empty email to them instead? It’s taken years to teach people to not open junk mail and now Chipotle is about to undo all that work with this promotion.
Because it creates a branding for Chipotle. They’re not donating out of benevolence, they’re donating out of publicity.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Doesn’t this also give Chipotle a nice list of valid emails to ? mass market email? sell the list?
Oddfool: “Doesn’t this also give Chipotle a nice list of valid emails to ? mass market email? sell the list?”
tundey: “Or why not just send empty email to them instead? It’s taken years to teach people to not open junk mail and now Chipotle is about to undo all that work with this promotion.”
* * *
I agree with these comments. The promo sounds fishy and potentially damaging.
I hadn’t thought about that but you’re right.
“Send us your junk mail and we’ll send you….not junk mail.”
Ding ding ding!
You win the prize.
To build participation and interest. There is also the psychological aspect of people engaging themselves in an activity for Chipotle. And thinking about Chipotle while they do it. And people thinking about Chipotle while they are answering they look at their emails which is usually morning or noon (lunchtime) is a good tactic.
Every single post you make starts with the words “I don’t understand”. Maybe the lowest common denominator is you.
I’m going to participate in this one. Good cause and somehow satisfying for reasons I really can’t seem to explain.
Maybe they’re doing this as a way to mine for email addresses? Forward something to them, and the next thing you know, you’re getting Chipotle flavored spam in the way of coupons and promotions.
Maybe…but I have a junk email account that I use anytime I don’t want my real email used. If I forward junk from my account and get more junk in return, it’s all still junk anyway…
Well, Chipotle does have a privacy policy and you can opt-out if you don’t want them to use your contact info for whatever they may want to use it.
From the article: “As in the first wave of this simple but effective campaign, no e-mail addresses will be automatically captured when junk e-mail is submitted through its no junk campaign, and the content of e-mails will not be read. People who participate in the program will have the opportunity to opt in to Chipotle’s e-mail list, learn more about Chipotle and its commitment to serving “Food with Integrity†on the company’s website, or link to TheLunchBox.org to learn more about that organization and its programs. “
Those burritos could be healthy. You just have to make the portion size appropriate. One burrito should be enough for a family of four.
Jeez. Sounds like they’re trying to train their bayesian filter.
.. and then the charity will MAKE.MONEY.FAST!
Sent some of the little editorials I get from PC World…got a thank you email back and a “If you want occasional email from us, click here.” line.
Spam filter set to fwd.
This is a horrible idea since this will wreak havoc on internet spam filters and corporate email systems being blacklisted.