THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 1, 1996 TAG: 9610010047
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MATTHEW BOWERS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 80 lines
IT WAS A PEA. A fake pea. On a tie tack. And it was free for the asking - well, for the mailing of a request and, I'm sure, some postage and handling.
No matter. I thought it'd be cool, as only a junior-high school kid can think such things are cool. A pea tie tack. I was going to wear it off-center, so it'd look more ``realistic,'' like I had accidentally dropped a pea on my tie. A magic pea, apparently, that somehow had adhered itself to the material, defying the laws of gravity and melted butter by not rolling off as I walked around.
I mailed my request to the address in the magazine ad, and the thing finally came in the mail. Yes, it was the color of a pea. Sort of. It was shiny and smooth and looked like what it was: a small, cheap, green plastic ball on a pin.
But it was free, more or less. And I so much looked forward to receiving it.
That anticipation, that excitement, that frugality is what several books on the market try to tap - hopefully with more-lifelike pretend vegetables - by compiling lists of free or almost-free offers from manufacturers, associations, states, professional sports teams, the federal government and foreign embassies.
Alas, the books themselves aren't free. Two specifically aimed at children - and their parents - are ``Free Things For Kids To Write Away For'' ($3.98, Jetco Advertising) and ``Free Stuff For Kids'' ($5, Meadowbrook Press). Both are updated regularly.
``Free Things,'' printed on yellow paper, offers 52 pages listing hundreds of items, starting with two English Bobby-style plastic whistles for $1 in postage and handling, and ending with a pet-care book for 25 cents' postage.
In between are addresses for sports decals, kids' recipes, ``No Smoking'' signs, buttermilk-pancake mix, pen pals, tips on bowling and taking photos, refrigerator magnets, sunscreen samples, booklets on how to baby-sit and make paper, pamphlets on the American jury system and enjoying symphonies, refrigerator magnets, a card containing the Braille alphabet - well, you get the idea.
Also included are addresses for most of the professional sports teams and the foreign embassies in Washington.
``Free Stuff'' is a little fancier - not as many items are spread over 93 pages of this bound paperback book, but they're grouped in categories like ``Sports'' and ``Hobbies and Activities,'' and listed on a contents page and an index. The editors pledged to have included only the best such offers they could find; most require $1 and a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
They include team souvenirs - including some minor-league baseball teams - stamps, craft materials and instructions, yo-yos, book of magic tricks, plastic-foam gliders, U. S. flag key chains and stickers, rulers and stencils, a tiny magnifying glass, storybooks, posters, pencils and pens, instructions on safe skateboarding and playing the harmonica, and a bunch of animal books, including one opposing classroom dissections. All are guaranteed available through 1997.
``Most companies, if you really contact them, . . . they're giving something free away, and they're doing it to promote themselves,'' said Lana J. Chandler, herself the promoter for ``Free Things.''
``Companies or trade organizations try to develop something informative or entertaining, something people will want to keep around.''
Children get some fun stuff, and sometimes helpful or educational stuff, such as safety-tip coloring books or information about foreign countries for school reports. They also learn to write letters - both ``Free Things'' and ``Free Stuff'' include instructions on writing simple business letters and addressing envelopes. ``Free Things'' offers discounts to teachers to use the book in their classes, which Chandler says many do.
In return for their trinkets, the companies or trade groups get advertising, causes receive publicity, governments generate good will.
``I find it amazing how much there is out there,'' Chandler said. ``It's easier than cutting off box-tops.''
She writes away for freebies, too, like plants and T-shirts. She's got her eye right now on a new T-shirt being offered by Kellogg's, the cereal folks.
``There's a little bit of kid in everybody,'' she said.
``It's kind of like Christmas all year round, in a way. . . . A lot of times, it's not what's in it, but it's like, `It came to me!' ''
True. In ``Free Things,'' there's even an address to write to for another green vegetable: a pickle pin.
I wonder how that would look on a tie . . . . by CNB