One after another, they keep popping up at his door. Brad didn’t ask for them and doesn’t know why they’re there. Over 20 have showed up in the past three months. Sometimes three of the little envelopes of annoyance appear a week. They’re credit card offers from Capital One, who seem keenly desperate to acquire Brad. Each of them gets sneakier and sneakier with fewer identifying marks on the outside until they almost look like regular mail from a real person. However, “What’s really been accomplished,” writes Brad, “is I now have a strong opinion about a brand that I never previously cared about either way.”

Brad writes:

Attached is a picture of most (but not all) of the credit card offers I have received from Capital One in the last 90 days. Usually three a week.

As time passes, they have become sneakier and sneakier. The envelopes which were once covered in logos change weekly and are now just plain white or manila. I guess most consumers have trained themselves to throw this kind of mail away without hesitation.

What puzzles me is this: What the hell is Capital One’s strategy with this insane amount of mailings? Is the goal to trick me? As if all they must do to close the sale is get me to open the envelope. “You know what, those last 25 credit card offers didn’t convince me but this unmarked envelope is just so clever! You fooled me Capital One. Sign. Me. Up!”

What’s really been accomplished is I now have a strong opinion about a brand that I never previously cared about either way. I highly doubt it is the opinion they were going for.

I have one credit card and it is not from Capital One. I have never done any business with Capital One.

Somewhere, deep inside the Capital One compound, all of this is the work of a master plan running perfectly.

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