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When Do You Pull an Ad?

By: Dwayne W. Waite Jr.

Advertising during specific shows and programs can make your audience think of your brand in different ways. There are reasons why we see more car and food commercials during football games than dramas. During news programs there are more political advertisements than consumer products. Advertisers make sure they cater to the audience they desire when it comes to advertising during certain programs.

But what if patrons of your brand disagree with where you're advertising? The most recent example of this is Lowe's pulling its ads from a Muslim reality TV show that follows the lives of five Muslim-American families. The Florida Family Association, a crazed conservative group, encouraged its members to boycott Lowe's for running ads during the show and to email and write Lowe's to get them to change their minds. The FFA, who won't shy away from bigotry, stated that the show hides Islam's agenda and dangers to America's civil liberties and traditional values.

Lowe's buckled to the pressure.

This isn't the first time a big brand decided to listen to the holier-than-thou morons of the FFA. We wrote a post a while back about General Mills pulling its advertising from Pretty Little Liars because the episode featured a lesbian couple and the FFA couldn't allow General Mills to support such a thing.

Advertising is a way for programs and issues to be supported. Just because these brands were helping bring light to issues that have generally been shunned from society, it doesn't mean that the brands are turning against what they believe in. No, we think that pulling the ads because they receive pressure from a bunch of ultra-conservatives show that these brands are not really sure what they are for or against. To shy away from controversy shows that they are not willing to stand for something.

When is it good to pull an ad from a show or network? We can understand if the show no longer supports the perspective of the brands, or if the demographic you are trying to reach is fleeing from the program. We even understand if the ad itself is receiving terrible feedback. But to pull an ad because of what show it is supporting cannot be deemed a sufficient reason.

Let's hope that in the future brands learn from this mistake and if they support something they care about, they are willing to stick up for it.

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About the Author

Dwayne W. Waite Jr. is partner and principal at JDW: The Charlotte Agency, a marketing and advertising shop in Charlotte, NC. He enjoys consumer behavior, economics, and football.

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