For Immediate Release
August 6, 2009
Contact: Brandon Hatler --
Sunshine, Sachs & Associates DumpGlennBeck@gmail.com
Procter & Gamble, Progressive Insurance Pledge Not to Advertise on Glenn Beck on Fox News;
LexisNexis-owned
Lawyers.com Pulls Ads from Glenn Beck
Changes Comes
as Tens of Thousands of ColorOfChange.org Members Urge Beck Advertisers
to Pull Their Support After Anchor Calls Obama
'Racist' on FNC
OAKLAND, Calif.--Three companies
who run ads during Glenn Beck -- NexisLexis-owned Lawyers.com, Procter
& Gamble and Progressive Insurance -- today distanced themselves
from Beck. LexisNexis has pulled its advertising from Beck and says
it has no plans to advertise on the program in the future. Both Procter
& Gamble and Progressive Insurance called the Beck advertising placements
an error that they would correct.
The decision by the three companies
comes as over 45,000 ColorOfChange.org members call on advertisers to
pull their ads from Glenn Beck after the controversial news host called
President Obama a "racist" who "has a deep-seated hatred for white
people" on "Fox & Friends" last week.
"Thank you for bringing this
matter to our attention," said John Michaels, Senior Communications
Manager at LexisNexis in an email to ColorOfChange.org. "We have suspended
further advertising during Mr. Beck's program."
"We have no plans to continue
advertising on Mr. Beck's show," Michaels continued in another email.
When executives at Procter
& Gamble were contacted by ColorOfChange.org, they said that any
ads run during Glenn Beck were run by mistake, and that they would correct
the problem going forward.
"No P&G ads should have
appeared on this program in the first place," said Martha Depenbrock,
Brand Building Stakeholder Relations for Procter & Gamble in an
email. "To be clear, if any of our advertising appeared on the Glenn
Beck show, it was in error and we appreciate you bringing this matter
to our attention. We will do what we can to see that it doesn't
happen again."
Progressive Insurance said
any ads running during Glenn Beck were a mistake by Fox News Channel
-- a mistake they have asked the network to fix immediately.
"Our (advertising) order
specifies no Glenn Beck," said Linda J. Harris, Media Director at
Progressive Insurance in an email to ColorOfChange.org. "We have confirmed
with the network that our spots should not be running there," Harris
said in a later email.
Last week, ColorOfChange.org
called on its 600,000-plus members to sign a petition urging companies
who advertise on Glenn Beck's radio and television shows to cut off
their advertising on Beck's programs. The mobilization came after
Beck called President Obama a "racist" who "has a deep-seated
hatred for white people" during an appearance last Tuesday on "Fox
and Friends." More than 45,000 members responded to the call by signing
a petition directed at advertisers, including LexisNexis-owned Lawyers.com
as well as Procter & Gamble.
"What Beck is doing is race-baiting
at its worst, it's dangerous and it's hard to imagine any company wanting
their brand associated with it," said James Rucker, executive director
of ColorOfChange.org. "Beck has now shown that his extreme views are
more appropriate for a street corner than a major media program. He
no longer deserves the backing of mainstream advertisers."
The ColorOfChange.org email
urged members to go visit http://www.colorofchange.org/
With more than 600,000 members,
ColorOfChange.org is the largest African-American online political organization
in the country.
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