random...
BETWEEN THE LINES
MONDAY Dec, 5, 2005
Built Ford Tough?
AFA claims victory, but Ford says no
By Dawn Wolfe Gutterman, Susan Horowitz and Jan Stevenson
DEARBORN, Michigan - The perception that Ford Motor Company
acquiesced to anti-gay demands from the American Family Association
has ignited a firestorm from LGBT people both within the auto
industry and across the country.
On Nov. 30, WardsAuto.com reported that Ford Motor Company executives
had averted an AFA boycott scheduled to begin Dec. 1. While details
of the deal between the extremist organization and Ford weren't
announced, WardsAuto.com quoted an AFA spokesman as saying on Nov. 29
"that while Ford had made some positive changes, there was a key
point still to be resolved that was non-negotiable. He declined to
specify the issue [and] added, 'We've made it very clear that if Ford
does not move on this one issue, the AFA will reinstate the boycott
with renewed vigor.'"
In the face of its threatened boycott, the AFA perceives that Ford
has agreed to pull advertising for two of its brands from the gay and
lesbian press. However Director of Public Affairs for Ford Motor
Company Mike Moran told BTL on Dec. 1 that while Ford will be pulling
advertising for its Jaguar and Land Rover brands from the gay press
in 2006, the decision was strictly a business decision and had
nothing to do with AFA demands.
"As far as any change in our advertising, basically we reviewed this
issue from a business perspective. Ford, Lincoln and Mercury - we
didn't advertise in any gay publications in 2005 and won't in 2006.
Jaguar and Land Rover won't in 2006; Volvo is going to continue with
advertising in gay publications because that division believes it's
an effective way to market its vehicles," Moran said.
There was no indication that the company would discontinue its
support of non-profit, pro-gay causes or that there were any plans to
drop its domestic partnership program or shelve its LGBT employee
affinity group, Ford GLOBE.
When the boycott was originally announced in May 2005, the AFA said
it was targeting Ford because the company advertises in the gay
press, supports gay pride events and pro-gay organizations, and,
according to an MSNBC May 31 quote of the AFA's now-defunct
boycottford.com website, is "the company which has done the most to
affirm and promote the 'homosexual lifestyle.'"
Asked whether his company would be pulling its sponsorship of gay
pride events, Moran said, "[We] haven't called anyone to rescind any
sponsorships. I don't see that as an outgrowth of this."
Asked about whether the agreement with the AFA would be affecting
Ford's domestic partner policy or its sponsorship of Ford GLOBE,
Moran affirmed that there would be no change in either program. Ford
GLOBE representatives directed BTL to their public relations
department for official comment. While none wished to be quoted for
this story, they did indicate how disappointing and demoralizing this
whole event was for them.
Jeffrey Montgomery, executive director of the Triangle Foundation,
called Ford's "record of fairness ... an excellent model for other
corporate entities to follow."
"Ford admits that it will cease advertising some brands, such as
Jaguar and Land Rover, in 'gay' media, but will continue with others,
like Volvo, but that those are business-driven decisions, not a
response to the homophobes of the AFA," Montgomery said. "We are
confident that Ford will continue to support the broad community of
people who buy their products and look to them for leadership in
fairness, diversity and equal treatment. To do otherwise and
capitulate to pressure from bigots would be bad policy, bad business
and bad corporate citizenship."
Driven by local dealers
The AFA boycott was originally announced on May 31 but was suspended
after efforts by dealers, led by Dallas Ford dealer Jerry Reynolds.
When the story was first reported in May, Reynolds told BTL that he
agreed with the AFA "family values" philosophy.
"I'd written a letter to (AFA chairman) Donald Wildmon ... regarding
the boycott and just explained to him that the boycott was going to
end up hurting the dealers and their employees primarily because we
are the face of Ford Motor Co.," said Reynolds. "I give much credit
to him - he understood. He was going to be in Dallas so we met and
out of the meeting came an agreement that they would suspend the
boycott for a minimum of six months and during that time I would work
with the AFA and top Ford management to discuss their concerns and
solutions to them," said Reynolds.
"What Ford does - I can't control and really don't want to comment
one way or the other. Like most people, I agree with much of what the
AFA stands for - family values. Ford, they market to all kinds of
groups - Hispanics, Native Americans, to the military. All groups
that I support. That's their issue and it's not mine, so you have to
get a comment from them. If we can sit down as a group and discuss
these things there may be some mediums there that can be reached and
that's my hope," said Reynolds.
On June 6, the official response from Ford on the suspension of the
boycott read as follows, "Ford Motor Company is pleased that the
American Family Association (AFA) has suspended its boycott of Ford
products. We look forward to having an open dialogue with the AFA
that leads to greater mutual understanding. Ford values all people -
regardless of their race, religion, gender, sexual orientation and
cultural or physical differences."
Sources close to BTL point out that having regional dealers making
"secret deals" behind closed doors has led to a public relations
nightmare for Ford.
Upon reading the WardsAuto.com story, Todd Evans, president and CEO
of Rivendell Media, was not impressed with Ford's commitment to
continue sponsoring gay pride events. "If they're not going to
support gay and lesbian media, why should gays and lesbians support
Ford?" Evans said. "I wouldn't buy a Ford."
Evans said that sponsorship of gay pride events is "a back-door, less
visible way to support the community ... because no one except
attendees at these events knows," that a company has sponsored them.
"No one notices sponsorships," said Evans, who represents the
National Gay Newspaper Guild to national advertisers. Rivendell is
also the national sales rep for BTL. "But gays and lesbians read
Between The Lines, and I bet they make a lot of car buying decisions
based on what they see [advertised] there."
Putting things in perspective
In a published "factoid" on its website, Diversity Inc. says, "The
total buying power of the U.S. gay, lesbian and bisexual (GLB) adult
population in 2005 is projected to be $610 billion, a 5.2 percent
increase from $580 billion in 2004, according to the latest analysis
by Witeck-Combs Communications and Packaged Facts."
According to a February 2005 release by Witeck-Combs and Harris
Interactive, "Almost two-thirds (64 percent) of GLB respondents say
they are at least likely to consider purchasing everyday household
products and services from companies that market directly to gays and
lesbians over competing brands that do not."
Asked whether any Motor City Pride sponsors have experienced a
backlash because of their support of the event, Kevin McAlpine,
development director of the Triangle Foundation said, "None
whatsoever. All of our sponsors, vendors - no one has been subject to
any scrutiny or influence from any organization like the AFA. On the
contrary, the gay/lesbian and social justice communities see these
corporations supporting human rights issues and in turn develop brand
loyalty towards those companies."
"Anyone or any organization that would hold a company hostage to its
own interests is fooling themselves and exposes their own fatuous
view of the world," Montgomery said. "The AFA is infamous for just
such stupidity."
Now ,even though this started in Michigan (Between the Lines is a Mi gay mag and Ford is based here) its simple to see the Nationwide (worldwide?) ramifications.
And here is a link discussing one of my favorite authors, Brendan Behan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brendan_Behan
MONDAY Dec, 5, 2005
Built Ford Tough?
AFA claims victory, but Ford says no
By Dawn Wolfe Gutterman, Susan Horowitz and Jan Stevenson
DEARBORN, Michigan - The perception that Ford Motor Company
acquiesced to anti-gay demands from the American Family Association
has ignited a firestorm from LGBT people both within the auto
industry and across the country.
On Nov. 30, WardsAuto.com reported that Ford Motor Company executives
had averted an AFA boycott scheduled to begin Dec. 1. While details
of the deal between the extremist organization and Ford weren't
announced, WardsAuto.com quoted an AFA spokesman as saying on Nov. 29
"that while Ford had made some positive changes, there was a key
point still to be resolved that was non-negotiable. He declined to
specify the issue [and] added, 'We've made it very clear that if Ford
does not move on this one issue, the AFA will reinstate the boycott
with renewed vigor.'"
In the face of its threatened boycott, the AFA perceives that Ford
has agreed to pull advertising for two of its brands from the gay and
lesbian press. However Director of Public Affairs for Ford Motor
Company Mike Moran told BTL on Dec. 1 that while Ford will be pulling
advertising for its Jaguar and Land Rover brands from the gay press
in 2006, the decision was strictly a business decision and had
nothing to do with AFA demands.
"As far as any change in our advertising, basically we reviewed this
issue from a business perspective. Ford, Lincoln and Mercury - we
didn't advertise in any gay publications in 2005 and won't in 2006.
Jaguar and Land Rover won't in 2006; Volvo is going to continue with
advertising in gay publications because that division believes it's
an effective way to market its vehicles," Moran said.
There was no indication that the company would discontinue its
support of non-profit, pro-gay causes or that there were any plans to
drop its domestic partnership program or shelve its LGBT employee
affinity group, Ford GLOBE.
When the boycott was originally announced in May 2005, the AFA said
it was targeting Ford because the company advertises in the gay
press, supports gay pride events and pro-gay organizations, and,
according to an MSNBC May 31 quote of the AFA's now-defunct
boycottford.com website, is "the company which has done the most to
affirm and promote the 'homosexual lifestyle.'"
Asked whether his company would be pulling its sponsorship of gay
pride events, Moran said, "[We] haven't called anyone to rescind any
sponsorships. I don't see that as an outgrowth of this."
Asked about whether the agreement with the AFA would be affecting
Ford's domestic partner policy or its sponsorship of Ford GLOBE,
Moran affirmed that there would be no change in either program. Ford
GLOBE representatives directed BTL to their public relations
department for official comment. While none wished to be quoted for
this story, they did indicate how disappointing and demoralizing this
whole event was for them.
Jeffrey Montgomery, executive director of the Triangle Foundation,
called Ford's "record of fairness ... an excellent model for other
corporate entities to follow."
"Ford admits that it will cease advertising some brands, such as
Jaguar and Land Rover, in 'gay' media, but will continue with others,
like Volvo, but that those are business-driven decisions, not a
response to the homophobes of the AFA," Montgomery said. "We are
confident that Ford will continue to support the broad community of
people who buy their products and look to them for leadership in
fairness, diversity and equal treatment. To do otherwise and
capitulate to pressure from bigots would be bad policy, bad business
and bad corporate citizenship."
Driven by local dealers
The AFA boycott was originally announced on May 31 but was suspended
after efforts by dealers, led by Dallas Ford dealer Jerry Reynolds.
When the story was first reported in May, Reynolds told BTL that he
agreed with the AFA "family values" philosophy.
"I'd written a letter to (AFA chairman) Donald Wildmon ... regarding
the boycott and just explained to him that the boycott was going to
end up hurting the dealers and their employees primarily because we
are the face of Ford Motor Co.," said Reynolds. "I give much credit
to him - he understood. He was going to be in Dallas so we met and
out of the meeting came an agreement that they would suspend the
boycott for a minimum of six months and during that time I would work
with the AFA and top Ford management to discuss their concerns and
solutions to them," said Reynolds.
"What Ford does - I can't control and really don't want to comment
one way or the other. Like most people, I agree with much of what the
AFA stands for - family values. Ford, they market to all kinds of
groups - Hispanics, Native Americans, to the military. All groups
that I support. That's their issue and it's not mine, so you have to
get a comment from them. If we can sit down as a group and discuss
these things there may be some mediums there that can be reached and
that's my hope," said Reynolds.
On June 6, the official response from Ford on the suspension of the
boycott read as follows, "Ford Motor Company is pleased that the
American Family Association (AFA) has suspended its boycott of Ford
products. We look forward to having an open dialogue with the AFA
that leads to greater mutual understanding. Ford values all people -
regardless of their race, religion, gender, sexual orientation and
cultural or physical differences."
Sources close to BTL point out that having regional dealers making
"secret deals" behind closed doors has led to a public relations
nightmare for Ford.
Upon reading the WardsAuto.com story, Todd Evans, president and CEO
of Rivendell Media, was not impressed with Ford's commitment to
continue sponsoring gay pride events. "If they're not going to
support gay and lesbian media, why should gays and lesbians support
Ford?" Evans said. "I wouldn't buy a Ford."
Evans said that sponsorship of gay pride events is "a back-door, less
visible way to support the community ... because no one except
attendees at these events knows," that a company has sponsored them.
"No one notices sponsorships," said Evans, who represents the
National Gay Newspaper Guild to national advertisers. Rivendell is
also the national sales rep for BTL. "But gays and lesbians read
Between The Lines, and I bet they make a lot of car buying decisions
based on what they see [advertised] there."
Putting things in perspective
In a published "factoid" on its website, Diversity Inc. says, "The
total buying power of the U.S. gay, lesbian and bisexual (GLB) adult
population in 2005 is projected to be $610 billion, a 5.2 percent
increase from $580 billion in 2004, according to the latest analysis
by Witeck-Combs Communications and Packaged Facts."
According to a February 2005 release by Witeck-Combs and Harris
Interactive, "Almost two-thirds (64 percent) of GLB respondents say
they are at least likely to consider purchasing everyday household
products and services from companies that market directly to gays and
lesbians over competing brands that do not."
Asked whether any Motor City Pride sponsors have experienced a
backlash because of their support of the event, Kevin McAlpine,
development director of the Triangle Foundation said, "None
whatsoever. All of our sponsors, vendors - no one has been subject to
any scrutiny or influence from any organization like the AFA. On the
contrary, the gay/lesbian and social justice communities see these
corporations supporting human rights issues and in turn develop brand
loyalty towards those companies."
"Anyone or any organization that would hold a company hostage to its
own interests is fooling themselves and exposes their own fatuous
view of the world," Montgomery said. "The AFA is infamous for just
such stupidity."
Now ,even though this started in Michigan (Between the Lines is a Mi gay mag and Ford is based here) its simple to see the Nationwide (worldwide?) ramifications.
And here is a link discussing one of my favorite authors, Brendan Behan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brendan_Behan