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mbenznut (profile) wrote,
on 12-5-2005 at 11:31pm
Jaguar and Land Rover will no longer advertise in gay publications, a Ford spokesman told a prominent gay magazine, in the wake of a boycott by the American Family Association. A report in The Advocate says the brands have stopped advertising in gay publications due to pressure from the AFA, a staunchly anti-gay rights group led by Rev. Donald Wildmon. Earlier this year the AFA had threatened to boycott Ford over the company's advertising in gay publications through its Jaguar, Land Rover, and Volvo brands, the Advocate reports. A Ford spokesman told the magazine's Web site that the company would stop running ads for Jaguar and Land Rover in gay publications but that the decision was made strictly for business reasons. The Volvo brand, a prominent advertiser in the niche, is expected to continue to advertise as in the past. Ford Motor Company, the Advocate says, has been a strong supporter of gay causes and has made contributions to groups like the Human Rights Campaign. The AFA had insisted that Ford stop donating cash and vehicles to gay causes and stop endorsing activities such as gay pride celebrations. Those donations might continue, the magazine says, but the AFA warns it could reinstate its boycott if its demands are not met.
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mbenznut

12-08-05 11:12pm

This week's dust-up over advertising in gay publications at Land Rover and Jaguar will have some long-lasting effects on the company's reputation-particularly with gay and lesbian car shoppers interested in those brands, according to data from Gaywheels.com.

Founder Joe LaMuraglia says his site, which provides a place where shoppers can judge the gay-friendly policies of automakers as they shop for a new vehicle, has had a long-running survey that charts the auto preferences of gay and lesbian car shoppers. And according to the site's data, about 88 percent of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered (GLBT) Jaguar and Land Rover owners consider a company's policies towards GLBT employees before purchasing, an extremely high percentage based on a small survey sample. The same percentage of GLBT Jaguar and Land Rover owners say it is important to advertise in the GLBT media, and say they're more likely to buy a vehicle if the brand advertises in the GLBT media. Most critically, about 38 percent of GLBT Jag and Land Rover owners have a household income of $100,000 or more.

It's too early to tell if Ford's predicament with the American Family Association and GLBT shoppers will have any effect on sales-but numbers like those are sure to be causing heartburn somewhere in Dearborn.


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