McDonald's Corporation launched a television ad campaign
in France this week to let people know they are a gay-friendly restaurant
chain. As a result of doing that, boycotts are being launched, and Boycott
Watch predicts a single unified boycott will arise as a result.
Boycott Watch has often stated that it is not in a company's
best interests to take sides in political hot-button issues, and that it serves
no purpose but to divide its potential customer base. As a restaurant,
McDonalds should concentrate on selling food rather than making political
statements. Many companies, including
Ford and
WalMart have
faced boycotts for advertising in gay magazines, only to be subjected to
counter boycotts from gay groups once the ads are pulled.
Advertisements are generally placed in a rotation thus are
eventually moved to other publications. So while boycotts are already starting,
McDonalds will now be unable to make everyone happy once their own ads are
changed. McDonalds, therefore, has put itself in a no-win situation which can
only hurt sales. While political boycotts generally have countering purchase
campaigns sometimes referred to as "buycotts," the ad campaigns
always make people on both sides of an issue upset, resulting in the no-win
situation for McDonalds. Boycott Watch once again warns businesses to avoid
entering into such political issues and debates. |
| |
|
|
| Advertisement: |
 |
|
|
