Ford Does the Right Thing

One story I've been following but not writing about is Ford's recent flap with the gay community. A couple of weeks ago, the American Family Association, led by long-time religious conservative media critic Donald Wildmon, announced that it would not be boycotting Ford, which it had previously criticized for advertising to the gay community and supporting gay rights and workplace diversity. The Advocate was first with the story, and they talked to a Ford representative who would not confirm an agreement with the AFA but certainly implied that was the case:

When first contacted, Ford spokesman Moran referred Advocate.com to the AFA statement, suggesting that the company had no disagreement with Wildmon's assertions. In a second conversation he confirmed that the company would no longer advertise Jaguar and Land Rover products in the gay media, saying that the decision was strictly "business."

John Aravosis was all over the situation, reporting on the developing story and organizing protests, e-mail and telephone campaigns, and other action against Ford. Browse through AMERICAblog over the past few days to see what he had going.

After meeting with representatives of the gay community on Monday, Ford released a letter yesterday--much more quickly than I'd've expected--repudiating the AFA's positions and reaffirming its commitment to diversity, nondiscrimination, and inclusiveness.

The AFA must've been caught off guard, because it took them about twenty-four hours to put a out a statement accusing Ford of reneging on its promise to cut its ties and advertising buys to the gay community. (Aravosis has that, too.) The AFA hasn't decided yet, but it just might go through with that threatened boycott, after all. I'm all for them boycotting. Ford has gone through a mudslide of bad PR over this in the past week or so and is trying to pull out of it, so now let's see what the AFA can bring on their side.