I had never before heard of "Reverse Shoplifting"

The NYTimes has up an interesting article on a relatively recent invention of guerilla marketers and ne'er-do-wells: reverse shoplifting or shop-dropping.

Anti-consumerist artists slip replica products packaged with political messages onto shelves while religious proselytizers insert pamphlets between the pages of gay-and-lesbian readings at book stores.

Self-published authors sneak their works into the “new releases” section, while personal trainers put their business cards into weight-loss books, and aspiring professional photographers make homemade cards — their Web site address included, of course — and covertly plant them into stationery-store racks.

“Everyone else is pushing their product, so why shouldn’t we?” said Jeff Eyrich, a producer for several independent bands, who puts stacks of his bands’ CDs — marked “free” — on music racks at Starbucks whenever the cashiers look away.

Not sure what to think of this. On the one hand, you have to applaud the creativity. On the other hand, it would be a horrible thing to purchase a family-friendly item only to find a raunchy political protest pamphlet inside. It amazes me to see that there is no line, however simple and harmless, that people are unwilling to cross when they find they can.