Tuesday, September 26, 2006

We Get a Bigoted Ad Pulled!

From the shameless self-promotion files of the Slob . . . . .

Some of you may have seen the publicity about an Ohio auto dealer running an advertising campaign making fun of Islam and declaring "jihad" on the auto business. Here are some snippets of the press coverage:
A car dealership's planned radio advertisement that declared "a jihad on the automotive market" has drawn sharp criticism for its content but will not be changed, the business said Saturday.

Several stations rejected the Dennis Mitsubishi spot, which says sales representatives wearing "burqas" - head-to-toe traditional dress for Islamic women - will sell vehicles that can "comfortably seat 12 jihadists in the back."

"Our prices are lower than the evildoers' every day. Just ask the pope!" the ad says. "Friday is fatwa Friday, with free rubber swords for the kiddies." A fatwa is a religious edict.

Dealership president Keith Dennis said the ad does not disrespect any religion or culture. He said it was "fair game" to poke "a little fun at radical extremists."

"It was our intention to craft something around some of the buzzwords of the day and give everyone a good chuckle and be a little bit of a tension reliever," he said.

The AP report will now need to be revised.

In response from an email from Your Slob, Mitsubishi Motors contacted the dealer and told him to pull the advertising:


To: A Big Fat Slob
Date: Sep 26, 2006 10:44 AM
Subject: Re: Mitsubishi's Jihad Advertisement

We greatly appreciate your email expressing concern regarding the proposed advertising campaign from one of our dealers.

Mitsubishi Motors North America has been in contact with the dealer in Columbus, Ohio, about the proposed advertising campaign that reportedly referenced jihad and terrorism. We've made it clear to this dealer that this campaign runs contrary to our company values and we strongly urged him not to run the campaign.

The dealer has agreed not to run it. We are pleased that this campaign will not run and apologize to all those who were offended.

Thank you once again for taking the time to contact us.

Sincerely,
Dan Irvin
Director Corporate Communications & Public Relations
MMNA
Here's the email that I sent to Mitsubishi:
Dear Mitsubishi,

Below is a newspaper account of an advertising campaign, of a Mitsubishi dealer, which exploits the deaths of thousands of people this year at the hands of terrorists who claim to be devotees of Islam. They also go further and treat the religious garb of faithful, and peaceful, practitioners of Islam as something to be mocked -- as if it it were a Halloween costume.

Given the precarious situation which Muslims face today as the result of subtle bigotry and irrational fear, this kind of overt appeal to that bigotry and fear is, there is no better word for it, disgusting. It is unworthy of being linked to the honorable name of Mitsubishi.

While I understand that your dealers are independent entities, I am sure that this is something in which you will take an interest. Independent or not, their advertising will still reflect on your company and I would be surprised if your Dealer Agreement did not give you some rights when proposed advertising might reflect poorly on your trademarks or products.

I appeal to you to take appropriate actions to convince this misguided dealer to select a different promotion for your products.

A Big Fat Slob
A great day for the good guys.

(Ed. -- WaPo reported this afternoon that the car dealership confirmed the ad was pulled.)

15 comments:

Bernie O'Hare said...

I appreciate a joke as much as the next guy. But this was way out of line. It diminishes a religion and ridicules a group of extremists who kill American soldiers and Iraqi civilians every day. I think this ad campaign would open wounds for the parents of any soldier who was killed in Iraq. You did a good thing, BFS.

I'm sending you a hoagie.

Will Divide said...

Yay, Slob!

Wren said...

Excellent letter to Mitsbishi and attaboy, Slob, for having the honor and integrity to take both the local dealer and the large corporation on. You've done a good thing and perhaps taught that truly dumb dealership owner something in the process. Whatcha bet he's dumped his marketing person?
Way to GO.

LVDem said...

Did you really sign it Big Fat Slob? If you did, you are my hero!

Anonymous said...

useful information blog,very good content.

A Big Fat Slob said...

Thanks, everyone. I was impressed with Mitsubishi's response -- it was quick and decisive.

And, yes, I did in fact sign it ABFS and they responded in kind! Without a snicker.

Of course, the Santorum campaign send s me emails addressed "Dear A. Big", so it could be a corporate thing.

Anonymous said...

Peaceful practitioners of Islam? And who might they be?

A Big Fat Slob said...

Ahh, an EXTREMELY blissful citizen heard from.

Boone is, no doubt, part of that most peaceful of religions, christianity.

Thanks for playing.

Gort said...

Kudos Slobby

Anonymous said...

It's too bad most Americans have not taken the time to read the Koran.

There is nothing "peaceful" in it.

If Teddy Rooselvelt were running things, these 7,000,000 jihadist sympathizers currently residing in the U.S. would have been shipped out by the end of 2002.

A Big Fat Slob said...

another one.

Some of my favorite biblical passages, and there are hundreds more:

Psalms 137:9 Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.

Matthew 10: 34-36 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

Deuteronomy 7:2 And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them.

Psalms 58:10 : The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.

blessed are the cheesemakers.

Anonymous said...

no one said JC is a man of peace; he is a bad guy but he is OUR bad guy. Moe-HAM-mud and All-Yayhoo need to stay where they belong.

At any rate,
"RELIGION WAS THE FIRST INCURABLE DISEASE." Book of Moshki 1:2

A Big Fat Slob said...

Blissful, indeed.

Anonymous said...

Two questions & one comment:

Who is Moshki? I don't remember that book from Sunday School. Is it Jewish?

Is it just coincidence that the hatemongers didn't leave a link to their own sites?

And my comment - why is it that conservative or right-wing Christian blogs never let you comment without being "loggin in?" It couldn't be that they want to control information, could it?

Way to voice your opinion and change the world...even if just a small part.

Anonymous said...

To W/ Morat.

The "hatemongers" can be seen in churches, synagogues and mosques every day.

"THERE IS NO god BUT NO god AND 'no-god' IS ITS NAME."

Book of Moshki 1:1