A Premium (and Freemium) Arms Race

New to the mailstream are efforts from nonprofits that stand out because they include large items usually considered to be back-end premiums. St. Bonaventure Indian Mission and School's 12-inch-by-15-inch cardboard envelope include a polywrapped fleece blanket. Oddly, the appeal (for water supplies) makes no mention of this freemium whatsoever (Archive code #606-717791-1004). Humane Society of the United States, always a generous supplier of freebies, also mailed a blanket, this one in a hard-to-miss 11-inch-by-13.5-inch polybag. But HSUS mentions it in the pitch against animal cruelty, at one point calling it "a reminder of the comfort and security your new membership brings" (Archive code #610-171869-1001).