Make no mistake advertisers are NOT taking sides over the Glenn Beck vs. President Barack Obama dispute. Actually most of the big advertisers will remain politically correct and withdraw from advertising on Fox News Channel’s Glenn Beck show.
The biggest PR problem for advertisers is the subject matter of racial conflict. Consider the audience that you target for advertising is the consumer you wish to attract. No one wants to be the brand that targets audiences that supports negative racial views. That would be a death wish for even the strongest brand.
ColorofChange.org campaign challenging Glenn Beck for calling President Barack Obama a racist proved to be successful. The organization encouraged a total of 33 Fox advertisers to withdraw their advertising. Big names such as Walmart, CVS Caremark, Clorox and Sprint will NOT air their commercials on Beck’s show.
At a time when many brands are seriously vamping up their exposure among minority audiences racial conflict just doesn’t seem like a smart PR move. Black buying power today is $913 billion strong and is predicted to reach an all-time high of $1.2 trillion by 2013.
Racial conflict that especially draws attention to black audiences is something that brands just can’t afford to be associated with. The high road is to remain politically correct.
If you can not provide a solution it is best not to be a part of the problem.