Man, this is big and ugly. Basically: The Ford Motor Company caved in to a threatened boycott by the American Family Association and will now no longer create advertising targeting the LGBT market and will no longer sponsor GLBT events.
As reported at WardsAuto.com:
Ford Motor Co.’s decision to cease advertising in gay publications for its Jaguar and Land Rover luxury brands is part of a truce between the auto maker and the American Family Assn. (AFA) to avert a threatened boycott by the right-wing Christian conservative group, Ward’s learns….
As part of the latest agreement hammered out Nov. 29, sources confirm Volvo Cars will continue to advertise in the publications but will use generic ads not tailored to the gay community.
In addition, Ford has agreed not to sponsor any future gay and lesbian events but will continue to maintain its employee policies, such as same-sex partner benefits.
Well, at least that last paragraph is a small concession. Nevertheless, I somehow don’t feel particularly compelled to support Ford/Lincoln/Mercury/Volvo/Jaguar/Mazda/Land Rover/Aston Martin any time soon, particularly since they’ve attempted a full-scale cover-up of the matter.
I guess Ford made a business-judgement and reckoned that the loss of sales to the GLBT market was potentially less than the loss of sales to the religiously-motivated market.
Business is business, and in all honesty I can only commend Ford for following the path which maximises shareholder-value.
And indeed, I can respect that. You’ll notice that I’m not calling for a boycott or mass action; I feel that people should read the articles, get all the facts, and make the decision for themselves. For my part, I decline to give them my money. Others may choose otherwise.
Indeed. One of my vehicles is a Land-Rover, and I would happily buy another irrespective of Ford’s position on ‘alternative’ issues. Business is business, and I’ll choose the best product for my specific needs.
For a company that was trading at $25 a couple of weeks back and is now at $16, I don’t think they’re doing a good job of maximising shareholder value. I don’t know if there’s any causality between the drop and this debacle – I’d like to think so. I just hate the idea of any corporate bowing to foaming religious types.
I won’t be buying any Fords anytime soon – but that’s based mainly on the terrible quality of their vehicles. I just got fed up of starting a car with WD40 and a lump hammer.
Yes, I’d say it’s time for us to propose a boycott of Ford products on OUR side.
Of course, I was irritated that they chose only to advertise their extremely expensive, extremely wasteful products in that way anyhow. These days the gay population is being viewed as a gullible cash cow by a number of major marketers.
Ah, yes. Appeasement. That prevented WW2 as I recall…
Heh. You might not want to delve too deeply into WWII when talking about Ford…
definatly not
NOOOOOO…..you dont
Wow…after problems I had with two of their crappy cars, I swore I’d never buy another Ford product. This cements the decision.
Big Auto is going through a lot of turmoil right now as it scrambles to change from sellers of oversized gas guzzlers to smaller, more fuel efficient ones. At least that’s the panicky plan. The Japanese once again caught them with their pants down ala the early 80’s, and are gaining market share even as American auto market share shrinks. Whether it can ever recover from this downward spiral is anyone’s guess, but I’m pretty skeptical. GM is dropping 30K people, Ford at least 7500 (for now in its ‘ever evolving’ Recovery Plan). They are trying desperately to keep customers in the States, and paying any kind of attention to non-approved-sexuality people is now a liability in this increasingly Conservative Christian country. I’m not mad at them at all. Rather, I leave their actions to Karma, which is a much better meter-outer of justice than I am. *grin*
I am inclined to agree on this one….
As a ford owner, having had several of their cars in the past and am currently driving one.
I am feeling sense of betrayal at this time. My next purchase will be influenced by Ford’s latest actions.
Besides, isn’t the Honda Element the choice of GLBT furs everywhere? 😉
In all seriousness, I’d buy a Honda again in a heartbeat just based on personal experience with reliability.
I thought it was the Subaru Outback
teehee
Here’s the response by Ford to it all:
http://media.ford.com/newsroom/release_display.cfm?release=22145
They definatly want to make it sound like they didn’t cave in to this group, that it all just business decisions.
Marketing to a segment that tends to have a large disposible income, that’s a business decision.
Caving in to a shrill and vocal special interest group (dare I mention extremist?), that happens to share a religious agenda with and the ear of the current administration in a government that can make or break their corporate destiny…that’s a business decision too, one of a different nature.
That short press release means Ford has discovered the brand name on the heel of the boot they just realized they’re under.
Okay, I stop now.
Man, that’s stupid. I suppose the best method is to boycott Ford in retalliation…
Oh, wait. I was doing that anyway, because THEY MAKE SHITTY FUCKING CARS.
Fix Or Repair Daily
Never owned one. Probably never will.
It’s interesting, the evolution of cars in my family.
My folks:
Mercury (mom’s 1961 Comet!)->Pontiac->AMC (a Pacer, for God’s sake)->Toyota->Saturn (I’ll explain about my dad someday)
Me:
Toyota->Chrysler (->Suburu? Honda? whenever I get my financial life back from the lawyer)