Another company pulls advertising from TLC’s ‘All-American Muslim’
On the heels of a controversial decision by Lowe's Home Improvement to pull its advertising from TLC's "All-American Muslim"following protests from a conservative group, another company has decided to do the same--though it claims it was not because of the backlash.
In a letter of apology to customers, an executive at Kayak.com, the online travel site, explained the decision to stop advertising on the new reality show.
"When we decided to give our money to TLC for this program, we deemed the show a worthy topic," Robert Birge, Kayak's chief marketing officer, wrote in the letter posted on the site. "When we received angry emails regarding our decision to advertise, I looked into the show more thoroughly."
Birge continued:
The first thing I discovered was that TLC was not upfront with us about the nature of this show. As I said, it's a worthy topic, but any reasonable person would know that this topic is a particular lightning rod. We believe TLC went out of their way to pick a fight on this, and they didn't let us know their intentions. That's not a business practice that generally gets repeat business from us. I also believe that it did this subject a grave disservice. Sadly, TLC is now enjoying the attention from this controversy.
Birge said he received bulk emails from members of the Florida Family Association, which last monthlaunched an online campaign to pressure marketers, like Lowes, to pull their advertising from the program.
"TLC's 'All-American Muslim' is propaganda that riskily hides the Islamic agenda's clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values," the group wrote. "The show profiles only Muslims that appear to be ordinary folks while excluding many Islamic believers whose agenda poses a clear and present danger to the liberties and traditional values that the majority of Americans cherish."
The group said 65 advertisers targeted by the campaign agreed to pull their ads from the show. (However, a spokeswoman for TLC told THR that there remains "strong advertising support for the show." )
"The amount of vitriol in the emails was saddening, but I didn't exactly feel pressured," Birge wrote, "not to mention we wouldn't bend to such pressure."
The Lowe's decision to pull its ads sparked a backlash from Muslim groups and supporters of the show. The company apologized on Facebook, which led to an avalanche of vitriolic comments. (Ted Lieu, a state senator from California, told the Associated Press that he would help initiate a boycott if Lowe's did not apologize.)
Birge admitted that the "decision comes across as bending to bigotry," and "it also appears that we did not support people who deserve support as people and as Americans."
"For that," he wrote, "I am profoundly sorry."
Birge added: "Mostly, I just thought the show sucked. Based on our dealings with TLC and the simple assessment of the show, I decided we should put our money elsewhere. Apologies again."
Read More: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/cutline/another-compan...
Top Opinion
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Reggie☮ 2011/12/14 23:07:40
Again, this is the actions of a hate group that is set upon to create in our country not only divisions between political groups but between religious groups as well.
They are an anti-anything they don't believe group that uses constant lies to get their way. They have made it a demand of dozens of companies to interfer with basic human civil rights of our country.
In my mind they are traitors and are against the principles of our US Constitution.
(look up the Fox or CNN sites and it says that the FL based group is upset over the fact that they are not showing American Muslims who are extremists and that some how TLC is putting a false image of what an American Muslim truly is)
If they want a t.v. show that shows what type of Muslim that attacked the US on 9/11 they need to go to the middle east and even then its only a certain few who are considered extremist.
This t.v. show was created in attempts to show the American public that not all Muslims are bad and that American Muslims are not bad just because they are Muslims, that would be like saying all Christians are bad because they were the cause of the Salem Witch Trials.
This show doesn't harm you nor anyone who might watch, watching the show doesn't make you suddenly want to scream 'Infidel' while attempting to cover your wife and daughters or any female in your family with a sheet.
Americans are still living with the fear that 9/11 caused and because of that they are blinded by the hate of a small group of people within a larger community thus marring their views of the entire community.
-Update-
Apparently the reason why the FL based group is mad over the tv show isn't because they are showing the lives of average American Muslims, it is because they are not showing a 'real' tv show that has American Muslims running around screaming 'Infidel' and while attempting to cover every woman they see with a bed sheet.
The interesting thing about this whole escapade is that I had never even heard of the show, let alone considered watching it, unless these islamophobes had made this concerted effort to take that right away from.
...I guess nothing beats free advertizing.
Maybe because not all Muslims are terrorists, murderers, or hate America? Maybe because Muslims are just like you and me? We're all a part of the HUMAN race.