A little sensitivity goes a long way

Warning: Moose-rant approaching. If you have ever wondered why that the mere mention of marketing in some quarters leads to looks and comments of disdain, then the following may well go quite far to explain it.

Like most of us, I have a natural aversion to the motives behind political correctness and resent having to walk over an ever-increasing pile of eggshells that society and hand-wringers in general insist on putting in my path. I do, however, believe that a) if everyone had respect for everyone else, there would be no need for political correctness, and b), respect should be a default mode until anyone has proved that they’re not worthy of it. This is not being insensitive, merely practical. Right; now we’ve fixed society, back to the rant.

We’ve all picked up the phone only to hear an automated message on how we really ought to sort out our PPI claims (really? There is such barrel-scraping in this; I sorted mine out within twelve hours of the news breaking that there was a hint of mis-selling, and that was six years ago at least). There have also been many other telephonic, automated marketing ‘initiatives’, but this morning’s really does take the biscuit. The automated voice was asking the question ‘had I sorted out my own funeral arrangements?’ I thought about this, and wondered how I would have reacted had I just returned from the doctors and being diagnosed with something terminal. Nice reminder, eh? This, as my late father would have put it, is the manifestation of ‘the spiv society’.

It’s one thing poking fun at those who deserve it, particularly the establishment, but be careful when creating your marketing messages of genuinely offending the innocent; they’ve done nothing to deserve it. This is not political correctness; this is common sense.