Voting with your wallet......
 
 
Ford's Head-On Collision with Gay Rights

Beleaguered Ford Motor Co., struggling to get back into the black by 2009, could be the first corporate victim of the so-called "culture wars" due to a boycott led by Christian-centered conservative groups.

Ford lost $12.7 billion last year, the largest single-year loss in its 103-year history. Last December, the No. 2 American automaker mortgaged all of its U.S. assets to acquire $23 billion to finance a dramatic turnaround plan.

Ford has a lot more than likes of Toyota and Honda to worry about, however: it is facing a boycott of its products spearheaded by the American Family Association (AFA) and more than two dozen other conservative groups.

Not Just 'Ford'

The boycott asks Christians not to buy cars from Ford or its seven other brands: Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin, and Mazda. The reason: Ford's sponsorship of "gay pride" events, its financial support of organizations such as the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), and its advertising in gay magazines and television programs.

Although the boycott, which began in March 2006, comes at a bad time for Ford, company executives aren't saying if it has had a major negative impact. But others are more certain.

AFA spokesman Randy Sharp says the boycott has clearly contributed to Ford's financial problems. Sharp emphasizes that 650,000 people have signed an online BoycottFord.com petition.

Donald E. Wildmon, the AFA's chairman, also claims a scratch is evident in Ford's corporate armor, pointing to the fact that the company appears to be quietly dropping its advertising from homosexual magazines.

Wildmon notes that Ford has run full-page ads monthly in The Advocate, a publication geared to homosexuals, for years. However, he says, Ford has not advertised in the magazine since December.

Impact

"Ford has felt the impact of the boycott, and this is their way out to save face. Ford has elected to drop support for the homosexual publications and remain silent about it," he says.

 
But Sharp maintains that Ford is just being coy about the effects of the boycott.

He points to last summer, when more than 75 Texas Ford dealers signed a letter urging then-Ford CEO Bill Ford to "cease" advertising in homosexual "media and events." The dealers told Ford the boycott was "affecting our business."

Dealers have reacted to the boycott in a way Ford itself has not. In May 2005, when the AFA first mulled a boycott of Ford products, a dealer in the Dallas/Fort Worth area approached the organization, setting up a meeting between AFA representatives and several Ford dealers.

The dealers asked the AFA to delay the boycott for six months to give them time to see what they could do alleviate the AFA's concerns. The AFA agreed.

The dealers then went to work lobbying Ford, which soon appeared ready to give in to their demands.

Promises, Promises

It promised it would not renew current promotions, or create incentive programs that give cash donations to homosexual organizations based on the purchase of a vehicle.

The car company also pledged that it would not make corporate donations to homosexual organizations that, as part of their activities, engage in political or social campaigns to promote civil unions or same-sex marriage.

Finally, Ford said it would stop giving cash and vehicle donations, or endorsements, to homosexual social activities, such as "gay pride" parades.

However, just as the AFA was ready to celebrate victory, a consortium of gay groups slammed the brakes on the deal. They declared that the agreement between Ford and the AFA was unacceptable.

At that point, Bill Ford announced that all Ford brands would support gay media with advertising, and the boycott battle began in earnest.

Now, after a full year of boycott, the AFA is considering whether to extend it.

"At this time we continue to monitor Ford's activities," Sharp says. "Ford has continued advertising in homosexual magazines ... [W]e may extend that boycott to a continuance of a longer period of time."

No Worries

Ford executives don't appear very concerned about the boycott, and one reason may be the negligible impact a similar boycott had on media and entertainment giant Walt Disney Co.

In 1995, a Disney boycott was organized by the Catholic League to protest Priest, a movie released by Disney-owned Miramax Co. about a Catholic priest involved in a gay relationship.

The following year, the Southern Baptist Convention threatened a boycott over Disney extending spousal benefits to employees' same-sex partners.
 

Later that year, the Assemblies of God started a separate boycott over the same issue. Although other groups joined in, the boycotts were terminated in 2005 and Disney emerged more or less unscathed.
 

Another reason Ford has had nothing more to say about the boycott, or the threat of it continuing, is perhaps because it's facing a truckload of problems.
 

Missing Goals
 

In mid-February, the Detroit News published some nuggets from an internal Ford report card. The take on its North American operations, in a word, is grim.

The report, which doesn't address the boycott, notes that Ford was projected to miss retail sales targets in the first quarter by over 10,000 vehicles.

Also making a failing grade: material cost-reduction goals missed in January would also not be met in February or March, the report states.

No one at Ford is acknowledging publicly that the boycott is aggravating the company's difficulties.
 

"We began aggressive actions in 2006 to restructure our automotive business so we can operate profitably at lower volumes with a product mix that better reflects consumer demand for smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles," says Alan Mulally, president and chief executive officer. "We fully recognize our business reality and are dealing with it. We have a plan and are on track to deliver."

That "business reality" is, however, perceived differently by the AFA.

Sharp says the embargo has taken on a vigorous life of its own.

The AFA's e-mail distribution list has grown from 2 million to nearly 3.5 million since the boycott began, he says.

"We continue to see the number of people grow who are becoming newly aware of Ford's support for homosexuality," Sharp says.

 
 
 
 
 

Maranatha!
Deborah
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