I’ve been ranting for years about the “personalization” of email, including this post from 2008 and this one from earlier this year.

So it’s hard not to feel vindicated when I read today that “personalization in subject lines dramatically reduces both open rates and click through rates — with open rates of 6.7% (compared to 11.2% overall) and click through rate of 1.2% (compared to 1.6%).” For the data source and more interesting numbers about email, check out this business2community post.

Takeaway for marketers: By and large, personalization is just another gimmick. Forget the gimmicks, just give your email recipients what they want in clear, concise language. Duh.

Mashable takes a look at some of the online marketing efforts behind Cowboys and Aliens. Of course, one has to wonder: Do any of these efforts actually increase awareness and desire to see the movie? Or are they simply a piece of some sort of ubiquity the movie’s trying to accomplish in the cultural landscape? Or are those kinda the same thing in the minds of many? Hmmmmm.

“The study of economy usually shows us that the best time for purchase was last year.”
—Woody Allen

Great story.

If the phrase “vaginal puppeteering” makes you cringe, you may not want to watch this clip from The Colbert Report. However, if you want to see one of the most brilliant deconstructions of an advertising campaign ever made, click away.