Advertising Mail

Scott Harris’ diatribe against advertising mail, “One Person’s War Against Junk Mail” (Oct. 12), is downright offensive and even misleading. Harris devotes his entire column to denigrating ADVO and advertising mail. However, nowhere does Harris, or you, inform your readers about The Times’ conflict of interest in his accusations. Direct mail, and ADVO in particular, is a Times competitor for advertising dollars. Perhaps this helps explain why Harris deems the same type of advertising found in your newspaper as “junk” when it is distributed in the mail. Surveys show that people read and respond to advertising they receive in the mail.

Furthermore, Harris callously dismisses the missing children featured on ADVO’s direct mail address cards when he says, “if missing at all,” they are “more likely the subject of a custody dispute than something more sinister.” To erase any doubts Harris has raised, yes, each of the children featured in ADVO’s program with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is indeed missing. They are among hundreds of thousands of children reported missing in this country every year. Regarding the issue of family abductions, these children are usually taken by a parent out of spite and, in some cases, to continue abuse. ADVO’s program has helped recover one out of every seven children it has featured.

VINCENT GIULIANO, Vice President

Government Relations, ADVO Inc.

Windsor, Conn.