EDITORIAL – Ford pulls gay ads, loses respect

If it had been a marketing decision, based on careful research and hard numbers, it would be… If it had been a marketing decision, based on careful research and hard numbers, it would be difficult to argue with.

Ford’s decision to pull its advertisements from gay magazines had nothing to do with numerical analysis, though. Instead, the decision appears to be based on something far less respectable.

Although the company’s spokesperson claims that this was a “business decision,” the pull was conveniently announced just days after a conservative Christian group announced its own pull – of a planned boycott of Ford.

Basically, Ford has chosen its ideal consumer: a homophobe.

The American Family Association, the group that threatened the boycott, was quoted in the New York Times as taking issue with Ford’s “track record for supporting the homosexual agenda.”

This agenda, apparently, includes reading magazines with advertisements for Jaguars and Land Rovers. Volvos, though, are seemingly appropriate cars for homosexuals to drive; they are one Ford brand that is not changing its advertising strategy.

That Ford would cave to the pressure of such a group is disheartening on a number of levels.

It is sad that such bigoted groups not only exist in this country, but also are powerful enough to influence a major corporation’s marketing decisions.

Ford’s making of this decision is questionable, since it is company policy to give same-sex couples the same benefits it gives to heterosexuals. Also, the AFA’s nine-year boycott of Walt Disney Co – a protest launched when Disney began giving same-sex benefits and holding gay-themed events at its parks – largely failed, and ended in May.

Why, then, make a point of pulling advertisements for luxury cars from gay magazines? The Premier Automotive Group, the branch of Ford which includes Jaguar and Land Rover, posted a pretax, third-quarter loss of more than $100 million, and it’s understandable for Ford to be concerned about its bottom line.

If Ford was pulling advertisements from magazines with low circulations, or whose readers generally don’t earn enough money to buy a luxury car, that would be logical. Instead, Ford has manifested this concern by canceling advertisements in publications with primarily gay readerships.

This hardly seems like a good strategy. Members of the AFA may be appeased, but homosexuals and anyone sensitive to “the homosexual agenda” should be outraged.

Luckily, there is a simple outlet for this rage: don’t buy Ford cars. The company has come out showing that it does not feel the homosexual consumer is worth courting. Fine; there are plenty of other car manufacturers on the market. Anyone offended by this move can send Ford a simple, clear-cut message by spending their money elsewhere.