As a sort of character-building exercise, I recently opened an unsolicited email from my health insurance provider. I was intent on doing a quick purge of sham, spam, and flimflam, and I figured this one would be no different. But I also know I’m biased against health insurers, so I decided to set my assumptions aside and read it.

“Last Chance to Win!” it announced. This was the first I’d heard of any chances or wins, but I let that pass. In the perpetual street brawl of public relations, appealing to desperation and greed is a fairly standard tactic, although perhaps not the most appropriate for an insurance company.

The email opened to side-by-side branding of my health insurer and an online doctor group. Except for the two logos cozying up, my insurance provider was conspicuously absent in the rest of the message. No partnership back-slapping, not even an endorsement. Almost as if (surely not) my name and contact information had been given to this other outfit.

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