Response from L.L. Bean (re: advertising on cBS)

NewJerseyJoe

[NewJerseyJoe]

I received a response from L.L. Bean in regard to my complaint about its advertising on CBS. I had suggested that, if it's a company/product you like, give "customer outreach" a chance before initiating a boycott. (Of course, I acknowledge that there are circumstances in which an immediate boycott might be the preferred course of action.)

If you'd like to contact L.L. Bean about this, the correct address is: PUBLIC_AFFAIRS@llbean.com

---

Thank you for contacting L.L. Bean with your concerns.

L.L. Bean did not specifically sponsor or purchase advertising time during the "CBS news with Dan Rather" or "60 Minutes". The company does very limited television advertising and we instruct network and cable stations to show our commercial at a time when a large number of people may see it. Most television shows are not seen at the same time around the country. For that reason, we do not select specific programs. Instead, we instruct television stations on a broader range of criteria such as show the commercial during "prime time"evening hours, no more than six times in one evening, specific nights of the week, etc.

To reach a broad audience we are currently running our one commercial on all the major networks (ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, etc.) and cable channels (BRAVO, CNN, Weather Channel, etc.).

It has always been L.L. Bean's mission to provide information to our customers on our products and services while recognizing a responsibility to, and a deep respect for, all of our customer groups. We are very concerned that you felt compelled to write to us on this issue and hope that the information I have provided gives you a better understanding of our television advertising criteria.

Again, thank you for taking the time to contact us. You are a valued customer and your opinion is very important to us.

Sincerely,
Carolyn Beem
Manager
Public Affairs

[big'ol_freeper]

Yadda, yadda, yadda...

[OldFriend]

A long time ago, I was one of those Americans who called demanding that LLBean stop selling Jane Fonda's workout tape.

They pulled Fonda's product from their catalog.

We can make a difference.

[Diogenesis]

The REAL DEAL:

These Companies (and Products) Ads' Supported CBS' "Lying Eye"(TM)

Boycott each and every one of them for CONTINUING TO support CBS/Rather's Lies

Allegra (Aventis Pharmaceuticals)
Campbells Soup
Cingular Wireless
Estee Lauder
Home Depot
Infiniti Automobiles
Kia Automobiles
Kleenex
Lowes [new Rather sponsor]
Morgan Stanley
Pepcid Complete
Splenda (Low carb sugar substitute)
Sprint PCS
Toyota [new Rather sponsor]
UPS Store
Vioxx (Merck)
Wellbutrin-xl (Glaxo Smith Klein) [new Rather sponsor]
Zelnorm (IBS medication)
Ziploc

---

Forging Ahead, Behind the Curtain at CBS = Counterfeit Broadcasting System

---

[Gopher Broke]

bumped and sent her a letter, asking her to STOP the ads or I will no longer buy from them.

Thanks,

[Only1choice____Freedom]

Can you pop up Mr. Paperclip again.

I love that one.

[wideawake]

To be fair, very often companies outsource their commercial placement decisions to agencies known as "media buyers."

These guys do demographic analyses and studies and try to find the best times and markets to place ads to maximize client benefit.

If they say that they did not specifically place ads during CBS 60 Minutes II, they're probably not lying.

Regardless, they should be told that they are free to instruct their buyer not to place ads supporting broadcasts of fraudulent news.

[johnd01]

Do you suppose they have as much control over thier manfacturing and distribution as they do over thier advertising?

If so, that would explain why I keep getting three-legged jeans I didn't order.

[Kolokotronis]

LL Bean's is not at all a lefty organization and the family members are most certainly not lefties. I suspect if they got enough complaints, they would take them very seriously.

[Rabid Dog]

Thanks for the link. I've been a LL Bean customer for many, many years (and $$$$) and I just sent them an e-mail asking them to apply some pressure on CBS.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

L.L. Bean is talking out of both sides of its mouth. Their advertising has been a regular on the CBS Evening News.

[flada]

[NewJerseyJoe]

LL Bean's is not at all a lefty organization and the family members are most certainly not lefties. I suspect if they got enough complaints, they would take them very seriously.

I agree with Kolokotronis. Plus, you have to give Bean kudoes considering that it's based in Maine, not an easy place to be conservative or even pseudo-conservative. Bean's got good quality products (which usually seem to last forever), and a great deal (not all) is made in the USA. Those are some of the reasons why I wanted to give them a chance first.

Granted, these replies are probably form letters.... but I don't know of any company that instructs its P.R. people to craft individual responses to dozens/hundreds/thousands of inquiries on the same subject. As was suggested, Bean is probably one of the companies that takes its customer inquiries fairly seriously.

[bluejay]

Boycott each and every one of them for CONTINUING TO support CBS/Rather's Lies

...

Splenda (Low carb sugar substitute)

...

Just saw another thread about racketeering charges against NutraSweet. Coincidence?

[ProudVet77]

Me too. No more stopping there in the fall.
I'm not letting any company hide behind an advertising agency. You advertise with a show you sink with the show.

[OldFriend]

Go ahead and write but I suspect their reponse is accurate. Much like some banner ads appear on the computer without the buyer ever knowing where the ads will pop up or show up on top.

[samadams2000]

Thats why you should buy from Cabela's...they sell mostly AMerican made products...Get yourself on the mailing list today.

[OldFriend]

Okay, what, where, and who is Cabela?

[ProudVet77]

I'm sure their response is accurate. But it's easy enough for them tell their agency to NOT show ads on a given show. I'm not willing to have any company hide behind an ad agency. It sets a very dangerous precident.

[longtermmemmory]

hogwash.

Advertising contracts include clauses to stay away from controversial shows.

CBS news is VERY controversial right now.

LLBean had better act, they have toooo much competition.