Least succesful telemarketing campaign Infographic

I've worked in telemarketing. It didn't involve dogs, which was probably a plus.

©2014 James Mathurin

Worst Answerphone message Infographic

I've had to find some new images for this entry, as the permissions on the images have changed since I originally shared it, but further research has found material that led to:

©2014 James Mathurin

The worst Answer-Phone message

The world’s worst answer-phone message was recorded in 1987 by Chun Miki, an Elementary School teacher from San Bernardino, in America. She used a recording of herself giving birth, which she edited down to 4 minutes. When questioned by police, after complaints were made by a tele-marketing firm trying to sell her double-glazing insurance, she said, “I’m just so proud of my little boy, Ronald, and bringing him into this world was such an amazing experience for me, so I just wanted to share some of it with the world.”

Ronald Miki, photographed in 1995, modelling his mother's range of coin-made head wear, which was promoted as, "Channelling the mind's power through the Third Eye". Photograph from The Next Web.

©2012 James Mathurin

Least succesful telemarketing campaign

The least succesful telemarketing campaign was run by the charity Bathrooms for Bitches, a charity supporting dogs abandoned due to incontinence. After 17 unsuccessful mail and telephone campaigns, in 2003 they brought on the 'Performing Arts-based fundraising team' of Miller and Barnes.

Speaking later in Marketing Bugle in July 2006, Matthew Miller of Miller and Barnes said,

"Our scheme involved the callers telephoning potential supporters, and howling down the phone at them, like an incontinent bitch. We spent weeks perfecting the pitch and timbre of incontinent bitches of various breeds, and the campaign raised 213 complaints, 19 criminal charges and 44 civil cases."

Staff at Miller & Barnes, pictured during the Bathrooms For Bitches campaign. Staff had to be trained specially to ensure that their howling did not exceed 100decibels. Jermaine Beckwithe, one of their callers, remembered, "Some days you would get home and all you could hear was the howling and whining." Picture provided by HowardLake.

©2010 James Mathurin