A new campaign is brewing...

I've just received a forwarded email from a woman who is passing on a copy of a letter she wrote to Vons:

Mr. Thomas C. Keller, President
The Vons Companies
618 Michillinda Ave.
Arcadia, CA 91007-6300

Dear Mr. Keller:
Yesterday I stopped into the Vons at 155 West California Blvd. in Pasadena to buy snacks before my daughter’s soccer practice. As we waited in the checkout line, I noticed that my children seemed fascinated with the magazine display. My son, age 11, and daughter, age eight, were eye-level with the latest issue of Cosmopolitan Magazine. That would be the issue with a nearly-bare-breasted woman on the front, and advertising such articles as “The Blended Orgasm: So Deep, So Strong. How You Can Have One Tonight,” “You Sex Goddess! Crazy-Ass Moves He Wants You to Do to Him There,” and my personal favorite, “Your Gyno's Secret Thoughts About Your Sex Life.” Perhaps you believe this is the kind of magazine your customers cannot find elsewhere. Perhaps you are right. However, I can also buy my groceries elsewhere, which is what I intend to do if I find myself unable to take my children with me when I do my marketing. I will also be sending a copy of this letter to every mother in my e-mail address book, so they can be forewarned about what to expect when they shop at Vons.
This is not about changing channels, monitoring internet use or supervising reading choices. This is about trying to get through just one day without having to confront the increasingly degraded environment in which I am attempting to raise my children.
I look forward to a prompt response.


I think this is a great letter, bringing up excellent points. I don't know this woman personally, but from what I gather, she is someone that, like me, believes that we can monitor tv shows and internet sites, but that this goes beyond what we can control. Except by doing something like this.