Dear Ben – Nov/Dec 2008
Letters To The Editor…
Dear BEN:
I have received a few messages over recent months from people living in various parts of the world, many in America. They all ask the same questions, all relating to the Legends of the sport.
One question in particular is: Why doesn't the American organizations put on a Legends of Darts event? The participants could be past winners from the original North American Open. I know you have all the records and would easily be able to total how many players this would involve. There would not be a problem with age as most of them would be in their late forties, minimum. Any thoughts on this matter?
I have also received many messages regarding Dick's column (Nelson Column, Volume XXVIII, Issue 5) in the latest issue of BEN. After reading it, I cannot help feeling Dick has a problem with the fact that the PDC are not in control of the Legends series. He has tried to write the article in a clever way, but in the end, he stabs himself in the back. To criticize the players for accepting Bobby into the series and yet turning a blind eye to Mervin King playing in the PDC events is quite extraordinary. What if any has been the response from your readers?
I will send you a copy showing the success of the Legends series. Bobby George, Eric Bristow and I have just signed to do a UK Theatre tour in 2009. All dates are listed in the article and the show is fully explained. Maybe BEN readers will be interested to know how successful darts can be in another capacity such as the theatre. The old guys are still pioneering the sport!
—John Lowe, Legends Series Player
CHANGE IS GOOD/BAD
Dear BEN:
The best advertisement in the Sep/Oct '2008 issue of BEN is the ad for Laser Darts. This ad appeals to me with the graphic and the fly, the verbiage "Deadly Accurate" and style of the font, as well as the information about the shafts, points and barrel. I also loved the humor in that no flies were harmed...
That said, maybe I'm too naive with regard to publishing a magazine about darts that gets people excited. You obviously need advertising dollars to publish BEN. Maybe I'm not the demographic that your advertisers are appealing to (a female darter), but I am a passionate darter, and as a consumer, I do spend my money on darts and dart related products (case in point, multiple BEN subscriptions). My point? I don't need the image of woman straddling a dart in ecstasy in order to get me excited about darts and dart products. Nor do I want or need "Rough Riders" or the image of a chick holding a dart with her jeans unbuttoned. What's next? Safe sex warnings? Advertisements in BEN for condom companies and KY? My personal consumer dollars will not be spent on SLYDART or with Voks Darts. Hopefully a class act like BEN doesn't become too much of a crass act that male youth darters are stuffing under their mattress.
Steve Brown's article is great and I hope to see more of this in future issues of BEN. However, one article for the amateur passionate darter on improving their game, every other month, is not a lot. I really, really hope to see more like this as well as more on the mental aspect of the game. I know I want it all, and I want it all right now, but couldn't there be at least 3 content heavy articles in each issue of BEN covering '01, cricket AND the mental aspect of the game? Why are we given Thermonuclear Cricket OR '01 Out Strategy? Yes, I want it all and I wager to guess that other darters want the same thing as well.
Dartoid's book review is interesting, but what he does best is his personal commentary on the world of darts. Whether I agree with him or not, or whether I even understand everything he writes about or not, I enjoy his style, humor, flair and so on. After putting down this issue of BEN, I couldn't help but wonder if maybe he was on vacation...(And as a side note, there are more than 75 books worldwide that have been written about darts - I know because I document these and am on a personal quest through eBay around the world, and relationships with others like Patrick Chaplin to have each and every book in my hot little hands, for my own personal collection.) I also hope you can help me understand more about the Las Vegas Desert Classic VII. There wasn't any mention in BEN of a women's competition. Yet, a fellow darter who was there shared with me that there was indeed a women's event with about 15 spectators. Was there a women's event? With regard to the '2009 Las Vegas Desert Classic, the time for BEN to start getting people excited about this tournament and traveling to Vegas to be there next year, is NOW. To write about it afterwards saying the spectators were mostly Brits is too late. By the time the tournament rolls around, most people have already made other plans. Darters need to be reminded NOW why they need to plan to be there - why they have to be there, and why they should want to be there!
I hope this E-mail hasn't been too critical - if I didn't care or didn't believe in BEN, I wouldn't write to you, I wouldn't have many, many links to BEN from my website, and I certainly wouldn't continue to have multiple subscriptions. I can't wait for the next issue and the "Official Holiday Gift Guide" feature.
—Sherilyn Herkey, The Passionate Darter
Dear BEN:
I'm concerned with the image of our sport. I thought BEN was too. So, what's up with the highly offensive "Slydart" ad? I thought BEN promoted the sport of darts, not soft porn. Maybe the "Slydart" ad is suggesting that male darters ought to be sharpening something else? I have grandchildren in the house, and this is the first time I've been uncomfortable with having my favorite dart magazine laying on my coffee table. As a major supporter of our favorite sport, you should be a bit more circumspect in your choice of advertising.
—E. Irene Goodwin aka ‘Mean Irene’
Editors Note: Ladies, please rest assured that we have no intentions of turning BEN into a sleazy “men’s only” rag (despite the near-certain knowledge that we would sell more magazines —a lot more—if we did). Like it or not though, our sport really is still dominated by men, and we’re not talking about a marginal difference here, but a ratio of at least 3 to 1 (if not more) and, in terms of our current subscriber base, that ratio is even more testosterone-laden.
Like any business, BEN must construct and present its products and services in ways that appeal to (and address the needs of) its customers. Suffice it to say, businesses that act otherwise do so at their own peril. So, as we have undertaken this long overdue remodeling of our publication this year, have we made a conscientious effort to increase the sex appeal of our magazine for our predominantly male readership? Unabashedly, the answer to that question is yes, we have. However, we would also strongly contend that we have not published—by any stretch of the imagination— anything (whether it be content or advertising) that has been explicit in the least. Oh, we’ve been a mite suggestive here and there, to be sure, but not markedly explicit or indecent. Certainly not as racy as, let’s say, your average beer commercial, or video game, or Sports Illustrated “Swimsuit Edition,” or (dare we say it) even a typical women’s magazine…
That’s right, ladies, we do occasionally thumb through your magazines while we’re in the, um…library, and we’ve gotta tell you, sometimes we just cannot believe what we find in there. We’ve seen articles on everything from detailed “howto” descriptions of exciting new sexual positions to readers’ elaborate sexual fantasies, exhaustive surveys on your sexual preferences and experiences, and even reviews of the newest sex toys (er…um, marital aids) that were so intimate that they made even us blush. And mind you, we’re not talking about Playgirl here, either; these are all topics we’ve seen covered in mainstream woman’s magazines, the kind that are on sale at every grocery checkout in the country. If you don’t mind us asking, do you hide those magazines from the kids as well? The truth is, ladies, sex sells—it sells quite well to both men and woman, albeit in slightly different ways. Whether it’s sexy Brad Pitt on the cover of People, or the lovely pro golfer, Paula Creamer, in the pages Golf Digest, sexy is good—sexy gets our attention! And the publishing and advertising businesses are, if nothing else, all about getting people’s attention.
Of course, the problem with matters of this kind is that the line that demarks tasteful and, well, not-so-tasteful, is arguably quite arbitrary. So much so in fact, that frequently it’s impossible to know exactly where that line is until one has actually stepped across it. Clearly, for some of our female readers that’s already occurred here. Please know that this was never our intention and that we do, in fact, hear you and understand your concerns. The very last thing we want to do is to offend or lose any of our valued readers—ever! So, while the overall response to our new format has been overwhelmingly positive, please rest assured that we will be taking a hard look at our new editorial policies in the coming year, and that we will be dialing back (where appropriate) some of our new found sex appeal. Having said that though, we’re going to go ahead and take this opportunity to get started right now by announcing the cancellation of our scheduled George Clooney photo shoot and our in-depth interview with Ben Affleck regarding his passionate attraction to women who know how to count backward from 501. What a bummer. We were actually looking forward to those features, but then, ahem…you’re right, we wouldn’t want to offend anyone.
PS: For the record…We are a relatively small magazine, one always in need of any and all advertising dollars we can get just to stay in publication. So, if anyone out there knows anyone at Church & Dwight Co., (the makers of Arm & Hammer baking soda and Trojan condoms), or Johnson & Johnson (the makers of KY), by all means, please—PLEASE— have them give us a call. We’d just lube to, er… love to slip one in for them. Um, that is to say, an ad; we’d just love to give it to them. You know, ad space… A full spread even. Oh, damn it…you know what we mean.
