So a boycott against Wal-Mart protesting the company’s outreach to the gay community is called off. Did the threat of a boycott work? Or are conservative groups taking credit for action that’s has nothing to do with them?
Similar boycotts were initiated against companies who advertised on gay-themed television shows, and those companies said they would stop. The boycotts were averted, but no one checked to see whether those advertisers followed through, which they didn’t.
In contrast, Ford Motor Co. announced it would pull ads from gay publications a number of years back, and the outcry from that decision made the company backpedal. What could possibly be the incentive for companies to appease gay audiences? Duh — money.
Wal-Mart has been attempting to reposition its marketing in recent years. You can see it in their TV ads. Those annoying testimonials from middle American family-types have been replaced by flashy CGI montages featuring size-zero actresses.
They’re trying to skew young, and they want to attract cool. And no one determines cool better than the gays, who are rather outspoken about how they dispose of their income.
Wal-Mart wants them dollars, and like any entity in corporate America, they’ll do what it takes to get it. I just don’t think the dollar of a radical churchgoer has the same pull as a gay customer.