Ads Rushing Out Of Limbaugh Show?

CBS MarketWatch.com ^ | 01/29/2003 | William Spain

[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.

[Joe Borderline]

This character looks like another Woodstock acid head who still thinks the concert is going on.

Major corporate entities do not pay any attention to letters and e-mails comprised of misspelled words, ranting and raving cussing or grammar that may have originated from Neanderthal pidgin.

Most likely, many will be saved to be posted for "joke of the day" or similar use.

[Captainpaintball]

CBS/Viacom is the radio syndicator of Bill O'Reilly's radio show.

No lie...As soon as I started reading the article, I thought of O' Reilly...

[TLBSHOW]

Radio Shack
(customer complaint form)
http://www.radioshack.com/Contacts/CustomerRelations.asp?OID=1

Red Lobster
(customer comment form)
http://www.redlobster.com/contact.asp
P.O. Box 593330
Orlando, FL 32859-3330
Guest Relations Hotline
1-800-LOBSTER (1-800-562-7837)

AutoZone Inc.
P.O. Box 2198
Memphis, TN 38101
Phone (901) 495-7185
Fax (901) 495-8374
investor.relations@autozone.com

Long John Silver's
http://www.ljsilvers.com/comments/comments.htm

Avacor (hair loss treatment)
(customer comments email)
comments@avacorusa.com

Inverness Medical (maker of stresstabs)
51 Sawyer Road
Waltham, MA 02021
1-800-899-7353 weekdays, 8 am. - 6 p.m. (Eastern Time.)

Overstock.com
(customer comments and service email)
therinfo@overstock.com" target="_blank">otherinfo@overstock.com

Lazerguide® (golf instruction tool)
PO Box 807
New Hudson Michigan 48165
1-877-266-6430 (toll free)

Bose Corporation, MS 2C2
The Mountain
Framingham, MA 01701
Phone: 508-766-7781
public relations at Bose:
carolyn_cinotti@bose.com
joanne_berthiaume@bose.com

Mission Pharmacal Company
10999 IH-10 West Suite 1000
San Antonio, TX 78230
Telephone: (800) 531-3333

General Steel Metal Buildings
1075 South Yukon, Ste. 250
Lakewood, Colorado 80226
Toll Free: 1-888-98-STEEL
Phone: 303-904-4837
Fax: 303-979-0084

Life Quotes, Inc.
32045 Castle Court
Evergreen, CO 80439
1-800-670-5433
info@lifequotes.com.au

Select Comfort Corporation
6105 Trenton Lane N
Minneapolis, MN 55442
Phone: 763-551-7000
Fax: 763-551-7826
investorrelations@selectcomfort.com


Scottrade Inc
12855 Flushing Meadows Drive
Saint Louis, MO 63131
1-800-619-SAVE
support@scottrade.com

RegionalHelpWanted.com, Inc.
1 Civic Center Plaza, Suite 506
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
800-365-8630
845-471-5200
Feedback@RegionalHelpWanted.com

The Swap Shop
3291 East Sunrise
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
http://www.floridaswapshop.com/
swapshop@aol.com
Phone - 954.791.$WAP

Pfizer Inc
equiserve@equiserve.com
235 East 42nd Street
New York, NY 10017
(212)733-2323

[JoJo Gunn]

You heard right. I sorta "kept up" with it, wondered how he would continue his ads, (which he read himself), after the problems with his hearing became public. So something sounds weird about this part of the story, pun intended?

As far as that picture of Stinson, he looks like just another dime-store greasy Collaborator who needs an acid bath. (The lice and scabies on all Leftists serves as a protective layer against soap).

[lorrainer]

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."

Oh, really? Having Shaq as a spokesperson is interesting then, seeing he has now converted to Islam and is a close, personal friend of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.

[Timesink]

Anyone wanna take bets on holg long it will be before the RATS try to re-introduce the Fairness Doctorine?

They can try, but it won't work. It's unconstitutional, and would have an injunction slapped on it within 20 minutes of becoming "law." Don't worry about it.

[txradioguy]

Shouldn't be too surprised. Bill also said he wasn't gonna do a radio show either. I sent a copy of the story to Matt Drudge. It's the kind of thing he LOVES to jump on.

[Howlin]

Progressive? Call them what they are, socialists.

[doug from upland]

So did Tim McVeigh.

[Timesink]

They just NEVER STOP!!!

There was a thread about this last week, but Freeper apathy, combined with the fact that the thread was eventually deleted because this latest Rush-bashing campaign is being run via DU and certain other tiny far-left sites, insures that we cannot participate in any activism to fight back.

[RiVer19]

I have already sent emails to Overstock.com and Bose. Here's the Overstock.com exchange:

My email:

I have purchased through Overstock.com

I have seen a letter posted on http://www.mediawhoresonline.com/
that is from Overstock.com that says you are responding to
these complainers by removing your ads from Rush's web site.

WRONG move!

I promise I will never buy another thing from your company
if you do this. Caving in to a small number of activists
with a political motive is a huge mistake.

I have bought from you. I will never do it again if you remove
your sponsorship from Rush Limbaugh. Look it up. I'm a customer.
You'll never hear from me again for this if it's true.


(Name and Address deleted)


Their response:

Dear (My Name),

While we do wish to make our name known, and while we cannot control what other websites post, or what is said on radio programs, we do want to ensure that we are not making a political affiliation.

I thank you for the time you took to pass along your comments and assure you that we always appreciate feedback. We count on your comments so that we can improve our website for everyone.

Thank you for this opportunity to assist you and if I can be of any further assistance, please let me know. We hope you mention our website to your friends and please visit us again for great savings on name brand products. For your convenience here is the bookmark to our homepage:

(deleted)

Take care,

Braiden C.
www.Overstock.com

(deleted ad info)

[TLBSHOW]

Red Lobster
(customer comment form)
http://www.redlobster.com/contact.asp
P.O. Box 593330
Orlando, FL 32859-3330
Guest Relations Hotline
1-800-LOBSTER (1-800-562-7837)

AutoZone Inc.
P.O. Box 2198
Memphis, TN 38101
Phone (901) 495-7185
Fax (901) 495-8374
investor.relations@autozone.com

Citracal - Mision Pharmacal
Bennett Kennedy - Citracal Product Manager
Mission Pharmacal
P.O. Box 786099
San Antonio, TX 78278-6099

Blue-Emu
1-800-432-9334
http://www.blue-emu.com/

Avacor (hair loss treatment)
(customer comments email)
comments@avacorusa.com

Lumber Liquidators
Toll Free: 877-645-5347
Contact list: http://www.lumberliquidators.com/contact_us.html

Inverness Medical (maker of stresstabs)
51 Sawyer Road
Waltham, MA 02021
1-800-899-7353 weekdays, 8 am. - 6 p.m. (Eastern Time.)


Lazerguide® (golf instruction tool)
PO Box 807
New Hudson Michigan 48165
1-877-266-6430 (toll free)

Mission Pharmacal Company
10999 IH-10 West Suite 1000
San Antonio, TX 78230
Telephone: (800) 531-3333

General Steel Metal Buildings
1075 South Yukon, Ste. 250
Lakewood, Colorado 80226
Toll Free: 1-888-98-STEEL
Phone: 303-904-4837
Fax: 303-979-0084

Life Quotes, Inc.
32045 Castle Court
Evergreen, CO 80439
1-800-670-5433
info@lifequotes.com.au

Select Comfort Corporation
6105 Trenton Lane N
Minneapolis, MN 55442
Phone: 763-551-7000
Fax: 763-551-7826
investorrelations@selectcomfort.com


Scottrade Inc
12855 Flushing Meadows Drive
Saint Louis, MO 63131
1-800-619-SAVE
support@scottrade.com

RegionalHelpWanted.com, Inc.
1 Civic Center Plaza, Suite 506
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
800-365-8630
845-471-5200
Feedback@RegionalHelpWanted.com

The Swap Shop
3291 East Sunrise
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
http://www.floridaswapshop.com/
swapshop@aol.com
Phone - 954.791.$WAP

Pfizer Inc
equiserve@equiserve.com
235 East 42nd Street
New York, NY 10017
(212)733-2323

XM satellite radio
http://www.xmradio.com/contact_us/contact_us.jsp
1500 Eckington Place, N.E.
Washington, DC 20002
(202)380-4171
(202)380-4581

The zMax Power System (auto engine treatment)
no contact info yet

Epson printers
562-276-1311

The Discovery Channel
http://extweb.discovery.com/viewerrelations

Freecreditreport.com
One City Blvd. West, Suite 401
Orange, CA 92868
helpconsumerinfo@consumerinfo.com

Xerox
Public Relations Inquiries: (585)423-5733
800 Long Ridge Road
Stamford, CT 06904
United States
General Inquiries-webmaster@xerox.com

Jointritis Pain Relief
http://www.jointritis.com/contactus.html

Lendingtree.com
http://lendingtree.com/stm/contactus/contactus-email.asp


Ruth's Chris Steak House
3321 Hessmer Avenue
Metairie, LA 70002
Phone: (800)487-4785
--Consumer complaint form available at:
http://www.ruthschris.com/
click on "feedback" on left of home page


BOSE Corporation
Call: 1-800-WWW-BOSE (1-800-999-2673)
(complaint form)
https://secure-www.bose.com/cgi-bin/contact_us/message_in?country=none

[Timesink]

TIME TO FIGHT Back and let ALL Rush's advertisers know what is behind this malice and that it will hurt them to listen to this BS from welfare liberal trash. We need some EMAILS to go out from all of us at FR--AGREED????

We tried. Or at least I tried. The threads were deleted and nobody responded to my Freepmails. So the hell with it, IMHO.

It's not like any spots that open up on Rush's show won't be snapped up by other companies within hours anyway.

[Flyer]

Remember Snapple? Advertising with Rush made it a household name.Cigar sales rocketed in the 90's. Rush sells products. Any advertiser would be a fool to listen to the Marxists.

---

Support Your Houston FReeper Chapter!

---

[elmer fudd]

I like the phrase "Vietnam era veteran". What a way to glom onto other peoples sacrifice and glory.

Perhaps I should start calling myself a "Gulf War era veteran." If anyone disagrees with me I'll just come back with, "hey, I served my country." That should absolve me from all blame and qualify me for sainthood. I never knew what a hero six years of stateside service would make me when I enlisted.

[Timesink]

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.

I've had bots running searches for this press release ever since this was originally posted; it was never issued.

[lorrainer]

All bets are off. See what my Senator Feingold has been up to?

[TLBSHOW]

CALL THEM COMMUNIST!

Henry Wallace, formerly FDR's vice president and agriculture secretary, left the Democratic Party that year to form the communist-dominated and Soviet-backed "Progressive Party." Much as Thurmond's Dixiecrat Party was expressly pro-segregation, Wallace's Progressive Party was expressly pro-Soviet.

Indeed, this was the apex of Moscow-directed subversion of U.S. politics. The Progressive Party platform excluded even the mildest criticism of Soviet aggression. It will come as no surprise that many American celebrities supported Wallace. The Progressives received 1 million votes nationwide, about the same as Thurmond's Dixiecrat Party.

Thurmond went on to reject segregation, become a Republican, and serve his country well as a U.S. senator. By contrast, running a communist-dominated presidential campaign was Wallace's last hurrah. Yet only an off-the-cuff remark at a birthday party praising Thurmond's presidential campaign is the career-destroyer. Not so fawning references to Wallace's Soviet-backed presidential campaign.

ANN COULTER

http://www.anncoulter.org/columns/2002/121802.htm

[paul544]

You folks need to ease up. Wait till Rush gives us the bottom line. The moron writing the story has obviously never listened to Rush or they would know Bose is always on. Rush used to do the commercials for Pete's sake. If we start overracting to false news, we go off half cocked and lose our effectiveness. If this is true, believe me, all 20 millions listeners will act as one, once we hear it from Rush.

[txradioguy]

SITYS!!!