Success! Allstate: [We are] "pulling our advertising"

> From: "XXXX, XXXXX" <>
To: xxxxx@xxxxxxxx
Sent: Thursday, March 23, 2006 10:54:39 AM
Subject: RE: E-Mail routed via EchoMail (Ticket#


Hello and thank you for your recent message.

We appreciate the feedback you provided. We are not always able to know the programming where our advertising will run in advance. We were unaware that our commercials were running during this show and are pulling our advertising from it.

Thanks again.

About this email:

This was Allstate's first specific, non-form letter response. First we got the form letter, then Allstate checked out the show, then we got this email. Then, after a few months, they started up again and moved the ads to another time near the news, (clearly to avoid the association factor with some of the outrageous things they say on KSFO). But as we saw earlier, that isn't much distance. For example, immediately after the 6:00 AM ABC Network News on 10/27/2006, Rodgers and Morgan talked about hog-tying and burning an alleged arsonist alive and stomping a protester to death).

Also, based on my email with advertisers, sometimes a new ad or media buying team comes on and doesn't know WHY the previous ads were pulled so they put them back up. So we need to contact them again. Sometimes we find it was simply a mistake, and they didn't intend to advertise again on the show.

Other times they are offered great 'deals' to get them back. For all I know they are giving them ads for free or bundling them with ads on Hannity, Rush or other programs. Of course it will look like a huge bargain at the time, and the sponsors might think "Hey this Gift Horse looks GREAT" so they advertise. But what kind of deal is it when the hosts cross the line yet again to taint their brand?

Of course the sales people will say, "Oh that's an old clip", or "they apologized for THAT". Would they really tell advertisers that they have no control over the hosts? So I just point out the NEW offensive things that they said and the things they have NOT apologized for (and believe me, I got LOTS of new things I never had time to post).

Advertisers: You can listen to Lee Rodgers NOT apologize for what he has said on 1/12/2007 at the KSFO website.

And regarding context? Well the fine folks at Online Blogtegrity have a few thoughts on that and Zombie facts.

I don't know what the good people at Allstate plan for future advertising. They may feel that they have to blast out ads all over the place no matter what the show's reputation is, but for awhile Allstate was paying attention to their own internal guidelines about NOT supporting violent rhetoric directed toward people of different races and religions. That was a good sign.

Wow, It just occurred to me, I certainly hope they didn't return after leaving because they were threatened by Lee Rodgers! That's not a very nice way to treat the people who (paid? pay? might pay?) the bills.

From MediaNewsDaily: Free Registration required

He [Rodgers] also seemed to threaten former advertisers. Responding to an email question, Rodgers declined to name advertisers that have withdrawn their support, but added: "People who want to play that boycott game seem to forget this is a sword that cuts both ways. We have plenty of people that listen to this radio station that say 'hell, if somebody is trying to shut up the people on my favorite radio station, I don't think I want to give them any money,' so it could work two ways."

Why did I run this quote again?
First, to remind advertisers that I'm not the one threatening them.
Second, I never called for a boycott.
Third, I know that the advertisers might not know the whole story and they want context.
Finally, the advertisers can always listen to the show on-line and make the decision themselves.