News

Ah, Facebook. The dangerously addictive social networking phenomenon du jour has always been something of a favourite with the digital and ad chaps.

But now DM has found a home there too, with the creation of a group self-effacingly entitled: 'I work in direct marketing, but tell everyone else it's advertising'.

Billed as a place where DMers can admit to their chosen career, and illustrated no less by a humble envelope, the group "understands and shares your anxieties, lies and deception," according to the site.

Some of the 317 members, though, appear to be sharing a little too much. "I would rather sell heroine (sic) to five-year-olds, than do another mailing which attempts to tell people that 29.4 per cent APR is a great rate," says one wall post.

Another honest DMer says that questions regarding her job are always answered with: "You know that stuff that comes through your door and goes straight in the bin? I write that."

The group appears to be a mixed bag of DM's minor celebrities, such as SFW's Chris Whitson and less well-known denizens, talent spotting each other and gently mocking the industry we all love.

One other recommendation: it's probably the only corner of the internet that Ogilvy Group's Rory Sutherland, DM's ubiquitous blogger king and member of no less than 66 Facebook groups, has not yet managed to infiltrate.