In these troubling financial times, when foreclosures and lagging home sales are covering the market in a pall of doom and gloom, it makes sense that consumers would be searching for an escape from the crisis. Thank goodness we have spammers who are willing to spread the word about loan modification, complete with hall of shame-worthy tactics!

This spam message enters the Hall of Shame for a few reasons. One, it’s blatantly trying to capitalize on the negativity of the current economic climate. The best spam draws on the opportunities that are available, after all, and this one certainly fits that bill. Many people are afraid of foreclosure, and playing to that fear is a powerful method to gain attention. The emotional manipulation begins with the title of the message itself: “Behind on House Payments? Don’t go into Foreclosure!” Gosh, maybe I AM behind on my payments! I fear foreclosure! And exclamation points make me excitable and nervous!

Two, it’s persistent. The spammers behind this message want to be certain that EVERYONE receives it, and that they receive it enough times for the message to sink in. Over the past three days, I received this message in my spam email box a total of 18 times. That’s some very determined spam! I guess I see their point, because you never know, I might have missed the first 17 emails that came through, so that 18th one was important.

Three, the message itself contains carefully-chosen imagery that further manipulates the reader’s emotions on a subconscious level. See the smiling, all-American family, posed in front of the home they hold so dear? See the combination of American flag and America itself, indicating patriotism and all the great things about this country? See the holiday artwork, evoking further feelings of family and home? And of course, see the scary threat of foreclosure in red and white, with the calm, rational solution in soothing blue? Every visual piece of this spam is calculated for maximum emotional impact. There’s no way your subconscious can avoid equating loan modification with mom, the flag and apple pie.

Last, it’s vague. How do you modify your loan and save your home? There’s no way to know for sure from this ad. What about the pull-down menus? They don’t actually work, it turns out. Is there any information at all that might explain how this loan modification thing works? Nope. You’re supposed to simply trust the emotional imagery and fear the potential consequences enough to click the ad and start the process. Simple enough!

Congratulations to the loan modification spammers for your persistence, timeliness, vagueness and emotional manipulation! It’s all earned you a spot in the Marketing Hall of Shame.