Unfortunately for Ford, it was in a bind. Doubtlessly, Ford will lose a great deal of business over their choice to end gay-friendly advertising for the Jaguar and Land Rover brands. They will lose market share to Subaru and others who stand out more sharply in these publications. But they stood to lose even more if the AFA enacted their boycott.
Faced with this choice, Ford chose the path that they predicted would hurt them the least. But when considering whether to harbor animosity toward them, we must consider that their choice to advertise in gay and lesbian publications was never an act of charity. They were by no means obligated to do so, and did only because they saw it as a means to generate sales revenue. Faced with a weak market for their products and a boycott from a powerful political entity, they had to review their activities as a corporation. And due to financial weakness, they probably needed to trim their advertising budget anyway.
But since the Volvo brand is still advertising in The Advocate, we can deduce that, rather than being a blanket statement against homosexual consumers, the change to their other brand advertising is a purely business decision. I can’t speak for every gay man out there, but Jaguar and Land Rover really aren’t attractive brands to me anyway, while Volvo is. If revenue from the gay and lesbian market was low to begin with, it makes basic business sense to either cut back advertising for those brands, or to do something radically different. Faced with the possibility of a boycott, they made the safer choice.
And while I don’t blame them, I will say this:
Head Chef and I want a new high-efficiency commuter car like the Toyota Prius, and we need a truck for our home remodeling projects. If Ford had chosen to be a responsible global automotive player and had put more resources into competing in the low-emissions market, we might hold them in consideration. But they didn’t. They pandered to gluttony, and now they’re left holding the SUV bag.
If Ford had stood up for principle over profit, Head Chef, I, and countless others would have considered them an honorable business that does the right thing even if it hurts. If they had announced a bold new marketing move for the Jaguar and Land Rover brands to coincide with their rejection of the AFA’s demands, we might have considered a Ford truck. But they didn’t.
And finally, if Ford had chosen not to negotiate with the AFA at all, Head Chef, I, and countless others might have equated them with those who stand up for freedom instead of those who fight it, like the Taliban and the Ku Klux Klan. We might have equated them with old-America values like honor and courage instead of new-America values like fear and greed. And we might have stepped foot on one of their lots. But that won’t happen now.
Because ultimately, image does matter. And I’d rather be seen driving a vehicle that symbolized enterprise and tenacious freedom rather than one that symbolizes weakness, cowardice, and by association - hate. I know it’s superficial, but I just like what freedom says about me.
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1 comment:
Two thoughts;
1. I would love to see a corporation like Ford, or much closer to home, Microsoft, use the opportunity of being singled out by groups such as the AFA to make a statement such as "We at Ford/Microsoft/Etc find these demands to be distasteful at the least, deeply troubling and insulting at most. We believe in the rights of all humans and do not support hatred and ignorance. By supporting our company you prove that you support human rights and human dignity." Turn this into an opportunity to mobilize those people who share those sentiments, I believe in the end there are more of those people than the Christian Right can scrounge up. Humiliate these groups by showing their ridiculous hate messages to be just that, ridiculous. It is much like I would like the Democrats to stand up and say "Republicans are bad for America and the world, and this is why." But they don't, because, as you said, that takes courage and conviction of values, and corporate America, and the Democrats, lacks both.
2. If Ford wants to pull it's ass out of bankruptcy and the possibility of its failure as a company, it will hire homos. WE DESIGN THINGS. We design GOOD things. We design things that PEOPLE WANT TO BUY. When I look at Ford I think "Some straight dude, from Milwaukee, with a mullet, designed this, for another guy, from Kentucky, with a mullet to buy. They need an image boost? We're all about image baby, we can help. Come to the gays, we'll save your ass, not fuck it, like the AFA. Funny how the AFA seems to have a problem with us doing some ass fucking, but have no problem sticking it to anyone they see fit. I think perhaps there are some latent, unresolved issues there....
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