Under Pressure, Ford Will Cut Its Ads in Gay Publications (HatefulBIGOTS!) [View All]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/06/business/media/06ford.html

Under Pressure, Ford Will Cut Its Ads in Gay Publications

By JEREMY W. PETERS
DETROIT, Dec. 5 - After a threatened boycott from a conservative religious organization, the Ford Motor Company has said it will cut back on advertising in gay-oriented publications.

The group, the American Family Association, called for the boycott in May because of what it said was the company's "track record for supporting the homosexual agenda."

After a meeting last week between Ford executives and members of the group, the company said that its Jaguar and Land Rover brands would no longer be advertised in gay publications. It said it had no plans to change the advertising strategy for Volvo, another Ford unit.

A spokesman played down the role the boycott had in the company's decision, saying that the ads were eliminated as a cost-cutting measure. "As they begin planning their marketing for next year," the spokesman, Mike Moran, said Monday, "they've streamlined their budgets."

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The American Family Association's chairman, Donald E. Wildmon, in a statement, expressed satisfaction. "They've heard our concerns," he said. "They are acting on our concerns."