NEW YORK In another salvo in the ongoing battle between Ford Motor Co. and the American Family Association, the pro-family group said the automaker has reneged on an agreement, and the AFA "is considering its next move," and may call on its members to boycott Ford vehicles.
In a statement posted on its Web site, AFA.net, Donald E. Wildmon, chairman of the AFA, said, "We had an agreement with Ford, worked out in good faith. Unfortunately, some Ford Motor Co. officials made the decision to violate the good faith agreement. We are now considering our response to the violation and expect to reach a decision very soon."
AFA had called on its members to boycott Ford products last spring because of what it called Ford's support "for the homosexual agenda and homosexual marriage." But it called off that boycott recently, at the request of some Ford dealers, and the automaker said shortly thereafter that it would stop advertising its Jaguar and Land Rover line in gay publications such as Out and The Advocate.
But a public and media outcry forced Ford to rethink its position, and the carmaker said it would, in fact, continue to advertise its entire line in gay-friendly pubs [Adweek Online, Dec. 15].
"All we wanted was for Ford to refrain from choosing sides in the cultural war, and supporting groups which promote same-sex marriage is not remaining neutral," Wildmon said in the online statement.
He added that because Ford broke the agreement, "the option of a boycott is now very much alive."
—Brandweek staff report