To Hell with Ford, Jaguar and Land Rover.

[Patty_O_Furniture]

Here are some of the Volvo ads. The “excited” ad was supposed to be especially offensive. Maybe they should have pixelated the parking brake?

[Purd_Werfect]

@SanibelMan

I was considering a Focus wagon, since there are so few small, reasonably-priced station wagons on the market, but I guess I’ll look elsewhere.

I recommend the Toyota Matrix.

[The_Chao_Goes_Mu]

I’m pissed off at this as well. I will be buying a new car this summer and you can bet what I won’t be buying. I sent off an e-mail to Ford this morning expressing my disappointment in their horrible decision.

[Homebrew]

UPDATE:

Not only will all models but Volvo cease advertising in GLBT media, what Volvo ads that do run will no longer be tailored to the audience.

Source

This is from WardsAuto.com, the publication that broke the Ford story last week, and it’s owned by Primedia, it’s a real industry publication:

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.

(Note: This is a subscription only publication.)

So stopping the ads was merely a business decision, eh? What about using generic Volvo ads and other sponsorships?

Liars.

[Captain_Amazing]

Well, it was a business decision. They decided they’d rather have gay people pissed off and not buy their products than AFA people pissed off and not buy their products.

What I don’t understand is why Ford thought this was neccesary. How economically powerful is the AFA that, if they don’t buy Fords, it will significantly hurt the company?

[Translucent_Daydream]

These stupid assholes (AFA - Assholes Fucking-up America) are really a hate group.

So Ford Motor is catering to a hate group? :mad:

I am not gay, but I sure won’t be buying a Found On Road Dead.

[Sublight]

@zenith

Let’s deal with the “hard-working, virtuous Japanese” who believe we are all subhuman crap because we aren’t “ethnically pure” like they are.

I just wanted to comment that this is absolutely true. Every morning when we wake up, my wife says “good morning, you impure piece of subhuman crap!” before spitting into my coffee.

[MsRobyn]

@Captain Amazing

Well, it was a business decision. They decided they’d rather have gay people pissed off and not buy their products than AFA people pissed off and not buy their products.

What I don’t understand is why Ford thought this was neccesary. How economically powerful is the AFA that, if they don’t buy Fords, it will significantly hurt the company?

There’s a significant overlap between groups like the AFA and the Southern Baptist Convention, for example. Ford is probably assuming that there are more people who agree with the AFA than there are people who will side with the GLBT movement. In that respect, this is a business decision, however crappy it is.

Robin

[Imasquare]

@anyrose

small minded people who fear what they don’t understand

I think don’t think they fear but rather hate.

[SteveG1]

I never planned on buying a Fix Or Repair Daily, this just strengthens my resolve.

[DocCathode]

@featherlou

3 - If we’re going to go back to WWII to not buy cars on moral grounds, all the German companies were in bed with the Nazis.

Until the US entered the war, so were all the American companies.

Re Volvo

I don’t understand this. Ford says this brand sells well in the gay community? I thought gay men weren’t interested in Volvos.

On A Serious Note

This sucks. A few days ago a friend e-mailed a copy of AFA’s boycott message. I thought how wonderful it was that a company founded by a man who published The Protocol’s in the company newsletter was now supporting the gay community. Now, they just give in.

At Ford, we still live by the principles of our founder-Narrow-mindedness, and bigotry.

I’m afraid now. It seemed to me that for the past few years we’ve made real progress to getting GLTBQs equal rights. Now, the AFA goes up against a multinational corporation and wins. If they can beat Ford, who will they beat next? How bad can they make things?

[Tuckerfan]

First Rule of Business: NEVER cut the ad budget.
Second Rule of Business: NEVER cut the ad budget.
Third Rule of Business: If you cut the ad budget, you will be out of business.

Given that Ford’s presently on shaky ground, this was particularly boneheaded of them. (Oh yeah, first black owned new car dealership in America? Studebaker.)

Oh yeah, the AFA’s current target? Target. Why? Because they have the gall to have their employees say, “Happy Holidays.” :rolleyes:

[SteveG1]

@Tuckerfan

First Rule of Business: NEVER cut the ad budget.
Second Rule of Business: NEVER cut the ad budget.
Third Rule of Business: If you cut the ad budget, you will be out of business.

Given that Ford’s presently on shaky ground, this was particularly boneheaded of them. (Oh yeah, first black owned new car dealership in America? Studebaker.)

Oh yeah, the AFA’s current target? Target. Why? Because they have the gall to have their employees say, “Happy Holidays.” :rolleyes:

It would be so cool if all the corporations banded together and gave this “Family” group a great big Fuck You. If nobody caved in to them, they would be powerless.

[Polycarp]

@DocCathode

I thought gay men weren’t interested in Volvos.

I’ve been meaning to speak to you about your problem with confusing vowels…

[Miller]

@Polycarp

I’ve been meaning to speak to you about your problem with confusing vowels…

It’s just a phase. He’ll grow out of it.

[SolGrundy]

Well, I guess there goes my plans to get a new Mustang. Damn, it’s a bad-ass car, though.

Still, I’d like to think of myself not in the “homos against Ford” group as much as the “people who can’t in good conscience buy a muscle car from anyone who’d cave to the THREAT of a boycott from a moral watchdog group against Ford” group.

[DocCathode]

I just sent the following to a relative-

The American Family Association is an organization dedicated to protesting and eliminating anything they see as conflicting with their interpretation of Christianity. The AFA, of course, objects strongly to anything that would promote the cause of equal rights for homosexuals.

Recently, the AFA contacted Ford and complained about the many things the company had done ‘supporting the gay agenda’. It was a long list, and I was moved by Ford’s support of the gay community. The AFA threatened a boycott unless Ford stopped doing all those things.

After some negotiations, Ford has largely given in.

They will no longer advertise in gay media, with the exception of the Volvo brand. These Volvo ads will no longer be gay-specific, but will be generic Volvo ads,

Ford will no longer sponsor or endorse gay causes or events, or donate money, vehicles or anything else to them.

Ford will still grant health benefits to the same-sex partners of their employees. (I assume that Ford will drop those after the next boycott).

Apparently, Ford has crunched the numbers and decided that they prefer selling cars to bigots over selling cars to members of the gay community and those who support the ongoing struggle for equal rights.

If you are bigot, if you enjoy taking dignity and freedom from other people, then Ford is the car for you.

But, if you believe “That all men are created equal, and are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights.”,

If you believe that the only ‘gay agenda’ is to be treated with the same basic respect we all have, and to be granted the same rights heterosexuals have,

If you believe that gays and lesbians are not some cartoon mob of freaks plotting to destroy society, but instead are our sisters, brothers, sons, daughters, and friends just trying to make their way,

Then, Ford has decided it no longer wants your business.

I urge you to spread the word to openminded, compassionate, Americans. Ford has done an ugly thing. The proper response is to stop buying their products.

[Cat_Whisperer]

@SolGrundy

<snip>a moral watchdog group against Ford" group.

I don’t mean this as a criticism of you, Sol, but calling them a “moral watchdog” makes them sound too legitimate to me, like they are actually filling some useful function, instead of just sticking their prying noses into everyone else’s business and looking for trouble (and making some up when they can’t find any).

[The_Chao_Goes_Mu]

Don’t these companies do marketing research? Don’t they know that us gay folk have more disposable income than our straight counteparts?

[Cat_Whisperer]

I would imagine that us childless by choice people have more disposable income, too, but nobody is marketing to us either because we are the vast minority.