Texas Ford dealers demand the company only advertise in heterosexual, family-friendly

[mardigras]

media and events.

The American Family Association which has set itself up rather effectively as Americas TV & Radio police is also mounting successful boycotts/harassment against companies who don't advertise where they approve.

The Texas Ford Dealers Advertising Fund board unanimously endorsed a letter sent to the company to "strongly urge that Ford not only cease to advertise in homosexual related media and events, but in all politically charged and controversial media and events." [guess that means sports too]

Customers, the letter said, "are besieging us in person, by phone, mail and email."

Apparently they are unaware of the stats that of the hundreds of thousands of complaints against TV last year all but a handful came from the folks organizing the boycott against them

The boycott, the letter said, is "affecting our business."

Pull the ads and it will affect your business about the same amount, but you get to make pretty face with the religious right... WTG, Ford

"When the blue oval is placed next to offensive photos of the gay lifestyle, as it was in the ad mentioned above, customers then believe that Ford endorses that lifestyle," the letter stated.

The publication being referred to is The Advocate, a newsmagazine, not an adult publication. The "offensive" part to these people would likely be merely that the pictures are of homosexuals.

The letter further said: "As one dealer at a recent meeting put it, 'The folks supporting this boycott are not on the fringe, they are not religious fanatics or persons that typically protest, but are average citizens concerned for the well-being of their families and about an all-American company like Ford advocating a lifestyle that they find objectionable.'?

Every member of the AFA that called a Ford dealership probably started out their conversation with, "I'm not a religious fanatic, but..."

http://www.sbcbaptistpress.org/bpnews.asp?ID=23770

http://www.family.org/cforum/fnif/news/a0041604.cfm

[ronad10]

Its the end of the world

[mardigras]

Originally Posted by ronad10

Its the end of the world

Heh, or at least the end of common sense in America (as if there were much left anyway)

[Rochard]

I wonder what percentage of people who buy their products is gay?

Come to think of it, I work in the porn industry and I've owned seven Ford products in the past seven years. I wonder how they would feel about that? Maybe I'm not "good enough" to drive their cars.

[mardigras]

Originally Posted by Rochard

I wonder what percentage of people who buy their products is gay?

I would bet it is at least the percentage that they claim are sales lost to the boycott. And how do they know their drop in sales is due to the boycott? Many of these people just call and complain, saying they aren't going to buy a Ford because of the ads when they weren't planning on buying one anyway. One article I read this morning said new auto sales were down 7% overall nationwide. http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald...s/15136117.htm

Originally Posted by Rochard

Come to think of it, I work in the porn industry and I've owned seven Ford products in the past seven years. I wonder how they would feel about that? Maybe I'm not "good enough" to drive their cars.

You can best bet if Ford put an ad in an porn industry publication and the AFA found out about it you'd be just as unwelcome as any homosexual

[directfiesta]

Originally Posted by Rochard

Come to think of it, I work in the porn industry and I've owned seven Ford products in the past seven years. I wonder how they would feel about that? Maybe I'm not "good enough" to drive their cars.

Good point.