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Ads Rushing Out Of Limbaugh Show?
CBS MarketWatch.com ^ | 01/29/2003 | William Spain

Posted on 01/29/2003 9:40:55 PM PST by SierraWasp

Ads rushing out of Limbaugh show? Progressives take aim at radio program's sponsors

By William Spain, CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 12:04 AM ET Jan. 30, 2003

CHICAGO (CBS.MW) - A Rush to the exits?

Though still in its infancy, a letter-writing campaign aimed at advertisers on "The Rush Limbaugh Show," has already claimed a few choice scalps -- and hopes to soon have other marketers saying "ditto."

Kicked off last week on the website of a group called Take Back The Media, the effort is generating a growing buzz among online progressives (or, if you prefer, "liberals") -- along with hundreds of angry e-mails to companies that sponsor what it calls Limbaugh's "hateful chortling and guffawing."

Micheal Stinson, a Vietnam-era veteran, is co-founder of Take Back The Media. Obviously never a Rush fan, Stinson and his cohorts were content to largely ignore the king of reactionary talk radio -- until he weighed in on the recent anti-war protests, calling participants "anti-American," "anti-capitalist" and "communists," among other terms.

"He just went too far," said Stinson. "Don't call me anti-American. I served this country."

When he decided to go after Limbaugh, Stinson said "we were told we would have to nip at his heels, to start by contacting local advertisers." He ignored that advice, however, and posted a list, complete with contact information, of top sponsors.

"Within 18 hours, RadioShack (RSH: news, chart, profile) had folded. Within 36 hours, Amtrak was gone and Bose told us they were no longer advertising on the show," Stinson said.

Oddly, Stinson's group is not only telling the rest of the world which companies advertise on Limbaugh's show but, apparently, even the companies themselves.

In RadioShack's case, the company maintains that it does not buy ads on Limbaugh's show and any that did air were "the result of an "error made by the radio network or local affiliate."

RadioShack, the company continued, "strictly adheres to a policy of not intentionally buying advertising space on programs that might be political or socially controversial or that promote any one individual's agenda or point of view."

Amtrak says the ads aired as part of a complicated barter deal involving, strange but true, the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau. It does not sponsor political shows and "'in the future...will communicate [that] practice to" other partners.

Although Stinson said he has reports of its ads appearing during the show, a spokeswoman for Bose told CBS.MarketWatch that its does not advertise on the program, "and has no intentions of doing so."

Other advertisers targeted by Take Back the Media include Darden Restaurants (DRI: news, chart, profile) Red Lobster chain, Pfizer (PFE: news, chart, profile) AutoZone (AZO: news, chart, profile) and online retailer Overstock.com (OSTK: news, chart, profile) -- none of which would comment.

Limbaugh is syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks, a subsidiary of radio behemoth Clear Channel Communications (CCU: news, chart, profile). While not addressing whether the show had lost any advertisers as a result of the boycott, Premiere issued the following written statement:

"There have been many times in the 15 year history of 'The Rush Limbaugh Program' when national and world events have generated increased listening as well as increased communication with individuals who have opposing points of view," said company president Kraig Kitchin. "The kind of compelling radio that generates opposition also causes Rush Limbaugh's weekly 20 million listeners to tune in that much more and listen longer."

That audience number is likely exaggerated (other estimates put it closer to 15 million) but there is no question that Limbaugh is big, big, big and one of medium's biggest single stars.

So, can a few scrappy liberals really hurt him?

Depends. A lot of radio time is bought pretty much on a commodity basis, with advertisers looking for dayparts and regions rather than specific programming. Many may not even know where their ads appeared until after the fact. And, unless they have given their buyers up-front marching orders to avoid him (already not uncommon), Limbaugh's powerful ratings guarantee a piece of that action. Of course, there are plenty of other options that can deliver similar numbers.

Whether or not the boycott works to any meaningful degree is going to depend on how many more advertisers decide it is easier to switch than fight. According to radio buyers, some companies cave almost instantly in the face of even a little negative feedback while others need to experience a truly sustained and widespread level of complaints before they listen.

Still, they don't have to get them all to make a difference: If enough advertisers put out the word that the show is a forbidden zone -- and they are not rapidly replaced -- the program will lose much of its economic value to local stations and station groups regardless of how well its audience numbers are doing. Of course, the already-loaded Limbaugh is never going to have trouble putting food on the table, but he and his fans could end up in less desirable timeslots or on fewer outlets.

Historically, the boycott approach has a mixed record. One of the most effective boycotts of recent times was against Viacom (VIA: news, chart, profile) unit VH-1's "Music Behind Bars," a program that showcased the jailhouse jams of murderers, rapists and assorted other scum. An outcry from victim's rights groups, law enforcement officials and politicians had advertisers staying away in droves and the cable network quickly pulled the plug on the series. (Viacom is a significant shareholder in MarketWatch.com, the publisher of this report.)

The "Christian" right's attack on "NYPD Blue" in the early 1990s, on the other hand, was a complete failure. It initially scared off some marketers but the program's ratings and demographics were so good that it attracted business from sectors that don't sell to religious nuts anyway -- including movies, beer, cosmetics, designer clothing, etc. And the effort completely fell apart when the first big package-goods company (Unilever (UN: news, chart, profile), if memory serves) jumped in. "Blue" eventually went to become one of the most enduring and profitable shows in Disney (DIS: news, chart, profile) unit ABC's prime-time line-up.

What makes this attempt particularly interesting is that progressives typically eschew ad boycotts both for free speech reasons and because it is a favorite technique of their ideological opponents.

Stinson, however, is unapologetic about tearing a page out of the other team's playbook: "We are going to employ the tactics of those people -- and it's already working. We are hitting some nerves."

William Spain is a reporter for CBS.MarketWatch.com in Chicago.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Extended News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: ccrm; medianews
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To: SierraWasp
I don't understand something -- I could swear I've heard Bose Wave Radio advertised by Rush. Maybe I'm thinking of someone else.. but I thought I remembered thinking to myself, why would he be hawking those radios? They're kind of cheesy. Hmm.
21 posted on 01/29/2003 9:59:12 PM PST by lainie
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To: woodyinscc
NOW y'all know why I list myself as a "recovering radio DJ".
22 posted on 01/29/2003 9:59:19 PM PST by txradioguy (Doing my part to keep the country free)
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Comment #23 Removed by Moderator

To: M. Thatcher
To: All; doug from upland; TLBSHOW

I just got called back from Lumber Liquidators. After getting my e-mail they went to go look at the websites that started this garbage. They were in fact reconsidering their advertising, but after going to check out the anti-american haters they understand this is an isolated effort and will be releasing a PR statement shortly reconfirming their efforts to advertise on Rush's show.

The guy who called me was very friendly and said they had been scratching their heads over the hate e-mail they have been getting. In his words DUmmyland and onlinejournal.com are "pretty stinky".


214 posted on 01/24/2003 12:35 PM EST by finnman69 (Bush Cheney 2004)

24 posted on 01/29/2003 10:00:23 PM PST by TLBSHOW (just a internet liberal; basher that is hated by the leftwing nuts!)
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To: MarkL
Many moons ago, I was ex-VP of a national franchise company. Our franchisees in San Diego made a radio buy that included Rush. A very angry lady tracked me down and said She and her friends were never going to shop with us cause we supported Limbaugh. I thanked her for her imput and then asked her if she had ever listened? "Certainly,in fact I listen to him 6 hours everyday." At that time, Rush was on twice a day in SD.
25 posted on 01/29/2003 10:01:06 PM PST by bybybill (It`s just for the fish and then the children)
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To: TLBSHOW
In his words DUmmyland and onlinejournal.com are "pretty stinky".


I'm cammo'ing up. Time to run a little black op on the RATS at DU! LOL!
26 posted on 01/29/2003 10:01:55 PM PST by txradioguy (Doing my part to keep the country free)
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To: sierradove
Good thing grayout won. If Simon won this 35 billion dollar deficit would be Simon's fault!
27 posted on 01/29/2003 10:02:40 PM PST by US_MilitaryRules (A penny saved is a governmental oversite!!!)
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To: SierraWasp; All
...The "Christian" right's attack on "NYPD Blue" in the early 1990s, on the other hand, was a complete failure. It initially scared off some marketers but the program's ratings and demographics were so good that it attracted business from sectors that don't sell to religious nuts anyway...

Is anyone else outraged about this "reporter's" choice of words?

28 posted on 01/29/2003 10:03:03 PM PST by Captainpaintball (Keep On Freepin' On!!!)
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To: SierraWasp
This is a very long PR piece masquerading as a news article, designed to pump up a pathetic and doomed cause. Look closely and you will see that the "successes" he cites of companies no longer running ads during Rush's show are all companies that deny they ever ran ads during the show. The author uses these false "successes" as a springboard to suggest that more "successes" may be forthcoming, when in fact, this campaign can point to no verified successes at all, nor any concrete examples of future ones. I'm a professional writer, I've worked in radio and advertising for 25 years, and I've written thousands of radio commercials, press releases, etc. This one is as transparent as a freshly-washed window.

BTW, the boycotts and demands that people be taken off the radio are standard tools of liberals, not conservatives. I can't tell you how many talk show hosts I know who have been the targets of demands that they be silenced for saying something someone disagreed with, and it's always from the left. People on the right call in and argue with you; those on the left demand that you be fired.

29 posted on 01/29/2003 10:04:14 PM PST by HHFi
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To: Captainpaintball
You notice the article didn't talk about the Bill Maher Affair.
30 posted on 01/29/2003 10:04:26 PM PST by lainie
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Comment #31 Removed by Moderator

Comment #32 Removed by Moderator

To: SierraWasp
One word for the advertizers who are pulling ads......

Snapple
33 posted on 01/29/2003 10:07:03 PM PST by Conservababe (abridged)
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To: Pokey78
Aren't Radio Shack and Bose competitors in some product lines? If both of these companies pulled their ads from RL's show, it might not be the result of some pissant pressure group as this article would have us believe. Several sponsors have left Rush's show over the years simply because the client's ad contract had expired and they didn't have the budget to renew (Snapple and Florida Orange Juice come to mind). But the Rush haters will spin this any way they can to make it look like the show is in trouble. Snapple came back for a while, left, and came back again. I guess the payoff for advertising on Rush was just too sweet, since the company's sales took off every time they signed on for another ad campaign.
34 posted on 01/29/2003 10:07:40 PM PST by flushed with pride
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To: TLBSHOW
Just fired off an e-mail to Bose
35 posted on 01/29/2003 10:09:57 PM PST by txradioguy (Doing my part to keep the country free)
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To: txradioguy
BUMP
36 posted on 01/29/2003 10:10:35 PM PST by TLBSHOW (just a internet liberal; basher that is hated by the leftwing nuts!)
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To: sierradove
Though still in its infancy, a letter-writing campaign aimed at advertisers on "The Rush Limbaugh Show," has already claimed a few choice scalps -- and hopes to soon have other marketers saying "ditto."

,,,,,,

To fight these commie rats we need everyone to send and call and expose the communist which are calling themselves progressives!
37 posted on 01/29/2003 10:12:18 PM PST by TLBSHOW (just a internet liberal; basher that is hated by the leftwing nuts!)
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To: everyone
Just fired off one to Radio Shack too. Wonder if it will make any difference in the signature block when they see that I work for U.S. Army Public Affairs?
38 posted on 01/29/2003 10:13:14 PM PST by txradioguy (Doing my part to keep the country free)
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To: TLBSHOW
Thanks for taking action....TLB... If there's anyone who can take a few hours to research corporate sponsor e-mail addresses, phone numbers, a new post with the info would be great!
39 posted on 01/29/2003 10:13:46 PM PST by Mediaqueen
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To: Indy Pendance
CBS/Viacom is the radio syndicator of Bill O'Reilly's radio show.
40 posted on 01/29/2003 10:14:12 PM PST by jimbo123
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