# Do boycotts still work? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 5, 2018, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-boycotts-still-work/811899 "2018-04-05T22:39:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-boycotts-still-work/811899/1 "2018-04-05T22:39:26Z")
Man, a lot of talk about boycotts lately. Jesse Jackson talking about boycotting Kroger; conservatives talking about boycotting the NFL; people calling for boycotts of businesses that do business with the NRA; Amazon; Facebook; everyone’s talking about boycotts. How much of an effect do they actually have? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-boycotts-still-work/811899/2 "2018-04-05T23:32:11Z")
I doubt many boycotts have any real effect, but the _threat_ of a boycott and attendant bad publicity (assuming the boycott has a righteous and/or sympathetic reason behind it) can make a number of companies blink. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-boycotts-still-work/811899/3 "2018-04-06T01:35:50Z")
It can make Fox News people take Holy Week vacations. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-boycotts-still-work/811899/4 "2018-04-06T03:35:33Z")
There are too many of them at any given time now for many people to pay attention to so I don’t think they are very effective at all. They can even backfire in a Trump victory kind of way. Extremely few people are going to stop shopping at Kroger if that is their nearest supermarket just because they closed a shitty store in Memphis. That is just free advertising for them. A lot of people just interpret it to mean that Kroger doesn’t want shitty and unprofitable stores - hardly the selling point of 2018 for a whole lot of people. Liberals and the Left in general need to change their strategies. They could fuck up a wet dream at this point. They are extremely good at taking a few good points and surrounding it in so much divisive rhetoric and attracting so many loonies as spokespeople that it almost always turns from the winds of change to Hurricane Katrina and just pisses most people off and not in a good way. The Right has similar but substantially different tactics that actually work. Boycotts, sit-ins, marches and amateur level shaming aren’t part of the Right’s strategy because they don’t work. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-boycotts-still-work/811899/5 "2018-04-06T03:51:15Z")
Boycotts are most effective when they accelerate an existing trend. The Uber boycotts were a really big deal for Uber because before, people would say “let’s take an Uber” when they meant any kind of ridesharing service but afterwards, many people started self consciously talking about “taking a Lyft” to distance themselves from the Uber brand. Similarly, the current Facebook boycott has the potential to be hugely consequential since most people are on Facebook simply because other people are on Facebook so giving people a socially acceptable excuse to leave will accelerate departures. But for the most part, boycotts against big companies are fighting an uphill battle since big companies generally get big because lots of people like what they do and the thing they liked about the company doesn’t go away just because of a boycott. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-boycotts-still-work/811899/6 "2018-04-06T04:51:50Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Boycotts, sit-ins, marches and amateur level shaming aren’t part of the Right’s strategy because they don’t work. You are kidding right? Right wing groups are constantly boycotting companies. Keurig Target Disney Starbucks Nordstrom Pepsi Budweiser Macy’s Amazon Ben & Jerry’s Ford(Jaguar brand more than others) Those are just off the top of my head. Any company that includes treating gay people with dignity gets added to right wing lists for boycotts, it’s been happening my entire life. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-boycotts-still-work/811899/7 "2018-04-06T05:32:23Z")
They complain a lot about the NFL too…while I’m not sure if any major conservatives have encouraged boycotting the NFL, I see a hell of a lot of individual people claiming that they’ve given up watching football because of the guys taking a knee. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-boycotts-still-work/811899/8 "2018-04-06T05:33:35Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > They could fuck up a wet dream at this point. No argument on that one, until I’m convinced otherwise by the election results. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-boycotts-still-work/811899/9 "2018-04-06T18:13:06Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > You are kidding right? > > Right wing groups are constantly boycotting companies. > > Keurig > Target > Disney > Starbucks > Nordstrom > Pepsi > Budweiser > Macy’s > Amazon > Ben & Jerry’s > Ford(Jaguar brand more than others) > Those are just off the top of my head. Any company that includes treating gay people with dignity gets added to right wing lists for boycotts, it’s been happening my entire life. I think the difference is, the right wing is just really bad at boycotts. How many of those companies have felt enough pressure from the boycott to cave into their demands? Heck, even the NFL, which probably has the highest percentage of right-wingers as customers, is still doing pretty well, despite an incredibly high-profile boycott campaign. The left wing might not win every boycott battle they engage in, but they do have a significant list of such wins. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-boycotts-still-work/811899/10 "2018-04-06T18:41:09Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > Ford(Jaguar brand more than others) Ford hasn’t owned Jaguar for ten years. So are people boycotting Jaguar Cars, or are they boycotting Ford? And either way, why? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-boycotts-still-work/811899/11 "2018-04-06T20:26:08Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > I think the difference is, the right wing is just really bad at boycotts. How many of those companies have felt enough pressure from the boycott to cave into their demands? Heck, even the NFL, which probably has the highest percentage of right-wingers as customers, is still doing pretty well, despite an incredibly high-profile boycott campaign. > > The left wing might not win every boycott battle they engage in, but they do have a significant list of such wins. I’d say NASCAR outstrips the NFL on the percentage-of-conservatives front, but that’s neither here nor there. There are particular issues with the NFL that make it almost impossible to boycott effectively anyway. One can boycott a company’s product and, in general, find an acceptable substitute. But the NFL’s product far outstrips the quality of any other in the field. It’s on its own level. Also, the game inspires strong feelings among its followers that you won’t find with most other products. For instance, I love coffee, hell, I live on coffee. But when was the last time I got excited about having a cup? Now compare that with a football fan’s feelings about his/her team at the beginning of a season, or later on if they’re competitive (and often even if they’re not). Fans are excited every week. Finally, the basis for the boycott is just plain stupid. Even many conservatives get the distinction between protesting the country’s policies and a lack of patriotism. So what ends up happening is a lot of lip service and very little action. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-boycotts-still-work/811899/12 "2018-04-06T21:29:12Z")
An answer to a slightly different question - “Did boycotts ever work?” There was a Freakonomics podcast about this issue. ([Transcript here](http://freakonomics.com/podcast/do-boycotts-work-a-new-freakonomics-radio-podcast/).) There’s conflicting research but the actual economic effects of boycotts seems to be small. When movements using boycotts do achieve their aims it’s hard to disentangle the boycott’s effects from other actions taken. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-boycotts-still-work/811899/13 "2018-04-06T21:52:07Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > So what ends up happening is a lot of lip service and very little action. Well, yes, that’s part of my point about them being bad at boycotts. You shouldn’t make a big deal out of boycotting something you love so much that you’ll then cheat on the boycott. If the company/organization can’t see any effect on their bottom line, there’s nothing to motivate them to change. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-boycotts-still-work/811899/14 "2018-04-06T22:15:12Z")
I refuse to answer this question! Who’s with me??!! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-boycotts-still-work/811899/15 "2018-04-06T22:43:53Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > I refuse to answer this question! Who’s with me??!! Sorry, there are only so many threads I can boycott at any one time. You’re on your own. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-boycotts-still-work/811899/16 "2018-04-06T22:50:15Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Sorry, there are only so many threads I can boycott at any one time. You’re on your own. > > 😉 So you’re boycotting my boycott? Hey, it works! ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-boycotts-still-work/811899/17 "2018-04-06T23:29:32Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > You are kidding right? > > Right wing groups are constantly boycotting companies. > > Keurig > Target > Disney > Starbucks > Nordstrom > Pepsi > Budweiser > Macy’s > Amazon > Ben & Jerry’s > Ford(Jaguar brand more than others) > Those are just off the top of my head. Any company that includes treating gay people with dignity gets added to right wing lists for boycotts, it’s been happening my entire life. > [@Horatius](#): > > I think the difference is, the right wing is just really bad at boycotts. How many of those companies have felt enough pressure from the boycott to cave into their demands? Heck, even the NFL, which probably has the highest percentage of right-wingers as customers, is still doing pretty well, despite an incredibly high-profile boycott campaign. > > The left wing might not win every boycott battle they engage in, but they do have a significant list of such wins. Regarding the NRA, Gun owners, incited by the NRA, did manage to make Smith & Wesson to cry uncle. > **[A gunmaker once tried to reform itself. The NRA nearly destroyed it.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2018/02/27/a-gunmaker-once-tried-to-reform-itself-the-nra-nearly-destroyed-it/?utm_term=.143bce48ecda)** > > Gun control advocates hoped Smith & Wesson's break with the firearms lobby was the start of something big. It was the start of a brutal retaliation. > [@](#): > > That same week, the NRA launched its first counterattack. It was simply a statement, titled “The Smith & Wesson Sellout.” > > “The settlement doesn’t merely alter the design of S & W handguns — it elevates S & W to the role of self-appointed arbiter of national gun policy,” the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action wrote on March 20, 2000. > > The NRA accused the gunmaker of “craven self-interest” — a “British-owned company” that had “run up the white flag of surrender and run behind the Clinton-Gore lines, leaving its competitors in the U.S. firearms industry to carry on the fight for the Second Amendment.” > > “The true intent of this agreement is to force down the throats of an entire lawful industry anti-gun polices rejected by the Congress, rejected by legislatures across America, and rejected by the judges,” the NRA wrote. > > So it became clear: The gun lobby would turn on one of its own before letting it compromise on reforms. > [@](#): > > The gunmaker’s sales and stocks were plunging, and there was talk that the owner, a huge British conglomerate, was trying to sell Smith & Wesson. > [@](#): > > But no other manufacturer broke ranks. Glock’s brief consideration of a deal had ended once the NRA spoke out. The company preferred to risk “bleeding to death with legal bills,” an executive told the Mercury News, rather than face what Smith & Wesson was going through. > > At one point during the boycotts, the Times wrote, New York, Connecticut and Maryland opened antitrust investigations of the gun industry, suspecting that Smith & Wesson’s competitors were conspiring to organize them. But gunmakers denied any collusion, and the investigation led to no penalties. As the presidential election approached, the industry saw hope that a new administration would back off the pressure. > > So in the end, Smith & Wesson fell alone. > > In the summer of 2000, the company suspended most of its manufacturing and sent workers home, the AP reported. > > In the fall, more than 100 employees were laid off — 15 percent of the workforce. > > Shultz stepped down as chief executive and left Smith & Wesson that September. > > Even as some accused him of being duped by the government, he was unapologetic about trying to reform the business of guns. > [@](#): > > The Clinton-era assault weapons ban expired in 2004, and two years later Smith & Wesson introduced its first tactical rifle — modeled on the AR-15, branded the M&P15. Demand for such weapons spiked as President Barack Obama prepared to take office, the Boston Globe wrote, amid fears of a new Democratic crackdown on guns. > > But the crackdown never came. The NRA eventually gave Smith & Wesson’s new chief executive, James Debney, its “Golden Ring of Freedom Award” — noting that the gunmaker had donated well over $1 million to the group. > > “We looked back at the support we had given the NRA over time and decided, really quite honestly, that it wasn’t enough,” Debney was quoted as saying in the news release. > > So Smith & Wesson became, once again, a revered and profitable U.S. gunmaker. > > On Feb. 14, three educators and 14 children were massacred in Parkland, Fla., in the deadliest high school shooting the United States had yet seen. > > Police said the shooter used an M&P15 tactical rifle, made by Smith & Wesson. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2018, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-boycotts-still-work/811899/18 "2018-04-07T05:25:24Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Ford hasn’t owned Jaguar for ten years. So are people boycotting Jaguar Cars, or are they boycotting Ford? And either way, why? They are boycotting both still, and still doing so badly. Ford has maintained a pro-gay stance for many years. This angers conservatives. Jaguar was one of the more embarrassing episodes. Ford announced they were advertising Jaguar in gay magazines. Conservatives didn’t like this so called for a boycott. Ford pulled the adds. Jaguar sales took a hit as a result. Once the numbers were in Ford put the adds back in and actually started funding gay pride events. The net effect of conservatives boycotting Jaguar was Ford increasing gay outreach funding. Jaguar continues to advertise in gay magazines to this day, as it turns out rich gay men like Jaguars. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2018, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-boycotts-still-work/811899/19 "2018-04-07T07:51:42Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > They are boycotting both still, and still doing so badly. Ford has maintained a pro-gay stance for many years. This angers conservatives. > > Jaguar was one of the more embarrassing episodes. Ford announced they were advertising Jaguar in gay magazines. Conservatives didn’t like this so called for a boycott. Ford pulled the adds. Jaguar sales took a hit as a result. Once the numbers were in Ford put the adds back in and actually started funding gay pride events. The net effect of conservatives boycotting Jaguar was Ford increasing gay outreach funding. > > Jaguar continues to advertise in gay magazines to this day, as it turns out rich gay men like Jaguars. There’s something indescribably ridiculous about this whole post. The idea that Jaguar’s advertising would be capable of causing controversy in the US. The idea that the kind of people who would object to Jaguar advertising in gay magazines would also probably be the same kind of people who disliked Jaguar to begin with because it was a British car, an effete foreign vehicle that they also couldn’t afford even if they wanted one. The fact that Jaguars are also known for having huge mechanical problems aside from this whole thing, almost to the point of being a punch-line in America. Also the fact that the brand is called “Jaguar” and there aren’t any other car makers named after any kind of animal that I’m aware of, other than the short-lived Eagle. (Also, now that I think of it, Eagle is also ridiculous.) Also the fact that the ONE car company to be named after an animal, was named after the ONE animal whose name has at least three different pronunciations. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2018, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-boycotts-still-work/811899/20 "2018-04-07T15:49:26Z")
Rabbit came immediately to mind. A quick google and [How Stuff Works](https://auto.howstuffworks.com/33-cars-named-after-animals.htm) provided numerous other examples. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-boycotts-still-work/811899.md?page=2)