Today I Learned (TIL)

9024 readers

7 users here now

You learn something new every day; what did you learn today?

/c/til is a community for any true knowledge that you would like to share, regardless of topic or of source.

Share your knowledge and experience!

Rules

Information must be true
Follow site rules
No, you don't have to have literally learned the fact today
Posts must be about something you learned

founded 4 years ago

MODERATORS

Kokomheart@lemmy.ca

JCSpark@lemmy.ca

TIL about a Fiat Ad that sent out some 50,000 anonymous love letters to young women. Women felt stalked and locked themselves in their apartments. (nowiknow.com)

submitted 2 years ago by Potatos_are_not_friends@lemmy.world to c/til@lemmy.ca

2 comments fedilink hide all child comments

The notes Fiat sent out were part of a marketing campaign to introduce the Cinquecento to Spanish consumers — the plan was to prime demand with the request “for a couple of minutes [together]” and then, four to six days later, follow up with a letter explaining that the note was from the car company with an invitation for a test drive.

But by the time those notes arrived, the damage had already been done. Women reported the threatening-sounding notes to local authorities. Communities were on the lookout for deranged love-lorn maniacs.

One of the 50,000 targets, though, did end up taking Fiat up on their offer for a few minutes — she asked for her day in court. And she won.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] li10@feddit.uk 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Least sexually aggressive Italian company.

[–] Shadow@lemmy.ca 0 points 2 years ago

Eh, more like average.

Bonus fact: Fiat, apparently, didn’t learn its lesson from the 1994 stalker note debacle — at least not immediately, or, perhaps, not internationally. In 2016, Fiat Argentina gave new car owners “a car manual which refers to women as ‘co-pilots’ and men as ‘alpha males’” while also “featur[ing] comments on women’s legs and the length of their skirts,” according to the BBC.