Why do small businesses waste their money on useless advertising?

Here we go again. Yet another 'local guide to your town' has plopped through my letterbox this week, full of 'handy information' about Lewes - in other words, a few skimpy articles purporting to tell me stuff which as a resident I already know, plus endless adverts for businesses who already advertise in all the other 'local guides'.

The formula is always the same - full colour, A5, homely design, a cosy foreword from a friendly looking lady and a publisher based in some town at least 50 miles away. This one is mysteriously called the '2008 - 2010 Guide' - pull-ease. They probably sold it as 3 years' worth of advertising for the price of one!

Why oh why do small businesses spend money on these useless publications? I know many of the business folk in this town and I know, like me, they can't afford to waste a penny on 'me too' advertising that won't deliver any kind of business benefit whatsoever. And yet these here-today, gone-tomorrow publishers somehow persuade them to part with their hard-earned cash, based on reinforcing the fear factor (all your competitors will be in it, can you afford not to be? ) and a few dodgy stats about how many homes they're planning to blitz with their junk.

Small businesses - could we all please once and for all stand up to this rubbish and refuse to advertise? Without any ads there wouldn't be any more bogus 'local guides', a few acres of forest would be saved and we'd all have more money to spend on genuine marketing that actually works.