5 Distasteful Marketing Ploys to AvoidWe're not talking about illegal practices, like email span, but rather strategies that fall under the gray areas of marketing etiquette.

My friend Eileen had a gray striped cat named Nimbus whose greatest joy was to hunt in the backyard woods and drop his offerings at her back door. Eileen never knew what she'd find when she opened the door--a chipmunk, vole, mole or bird.

Nimbus was easily forgiven--he was a cat, operating solely on instinct. Far more accountable are those who manage their business the way Nimbus operated his--by plopping the unwanted and often distasteful straight into our unsuspecting laps under the guise of "marketing."