Ford: A Coward For The Modern Age Part I

John Aravosis of AmericaBlog is making a loud noise about Ford Motor Company’s decision to stop advertising some of its brands in gay publications. And while I’d like to acknowledge that it’s basically his job to blow things out of proportion, it is a big deal. Just not for the reasons John has cited.

First and foremost, even though I am deeply distrusting of large corporate entities, I do believe that it’s strictly a business decision on the part of Ford. They were facing a boycott from the American Family Association (I will not link to them). They are closing several assembly plants in the US, and they have horribly sagging demand for their products. Combined with the high cost of advertising and the potential for even more loss of sales, they ran the numbers.

I don’t mean to minimize the importance of the company’s Aryan-supremacist past, as that should never be forgotten. Rather, I’m suggesting that Ford Motor Company did what many mega-corps would do these days. Faced with market impact, they ran the numbers against their demographics. They compared revenues from sales to gays and lesbians to sales from conservatives, and evaluated the impact of a boycott against the impact of a gay backlash should they pull their advertising.

Obviously, the gay market is smaller. At least for the Jaguar and Land Rover brands. But not for Volvo, which will continue to advertise in gay publications.

What I find shocking is that Ford Motor Company actually had what it has called “a constructive dialogue” with the American Family Association (AFA). This is the really big deal, because it can be effortlessly equated with entering negotiations with the Ku Klux Klan or the Taliban. No responsible corporation would acknowledge negotiating with either of these entities, yet Ford has admitted it. And they may have set a dangerous precedent in doing so.

The AFA knows that American auto makers are suffering hard times and it needs symbols of political success resulting from its strategies. Its attempts to boycott major corporate businesses usually fail because the businesses are strong and don’t really suffer. Too many failures might weaken the AFA’s support and reduce its political power. In light of this, the AFA got smart. It seized on Ford – an American icon – at a moment of weakness and threatened to hurt it further. It was a lose/lose scenario for Ford, but it was an opportunity for a badly needed success for the ruthless, dogged AFA.

Frankly, it was a brilliant move on the part of the AFA from a strategic perspective. Based on the success of their Ford effort, I’m sure we can expect to see the AFA watching American markets for weakness, and threatening other boycotts in vertical markets where they can have an impact. This could signal a huge change for the AFA and other hate groups like them, and could reap even bigger rewards for them elsewhere.