Tuesday, July 25, 2006

T-Mobile Caves To Far Right Extremist Group

T-Mobile's CEO announced they are yanking all ads from the FX cable channel for the foreseeable future because of shows like the Emmy nominated "Rescue Me." Why? Because the American Family Association created a fake controversy by deluging T-Mobile with their members' emails complaining about these shows. In other words, the AFA doesn't want to watch "Rescue Me" so no one else should be able to watch it either. (And believe me, if every advertiser yanked their ads, the show would certainly be cancelled.) The head of T-Mobile is either a bigot himself or an idiot. Doesn't he know the AFA has been labeled as "extremist" by the Southern Poverty Law Center? Doesn't he know their "boycotts" are a joke and have never worked when a company has told them to take a hike with their bigotry and prejudice? Doesn't he know "Rescue Me" airs at 10 p.m. and is well-known for its raw nature -- if someone watches it, they know what to expect. T-Mobile should advertise on all types of shows, from "Rescue Me" to "Seventh Heaven." Their customers certainly watch both. And finally, isn't the moral superiority the head of T-Mobile tried to claim pretty absurd since he's used rapper Snoop Dogg (who praises the gangsta life and sexy "bitches") and Paris Hilton (famous for her sleazy sex tape and bimbo billionaire lifestyle) in his advertisements? Let T-Mobile's Robert Dotson know what you think about him aligning his company with an extremist far right hate group. Leave a complaint -- especially if you're a customer -- at 800-937-8997 (customer service) or call Dotson at corporate headquarters at 425-378-4000. You can email T-Mobile from their website here.

18 comments:

Cheney08 said...

Paris has a sleazy sex tape?

Anonymous said...

Even scarier is that someone didn't know about Paris Hilton's sleazy sex tape LOL

But seriously, I fired off a complaint letter addressed to Robert Dotson and had to cut out a few things when I reached the text limit.

Let's give the AFA hell :)

Michael in New York said...

Thanks Dan. You know the AFA sent him thousands. If we don't send thousands, they'll just blindly do what the AFA says.

Michael in New York said...

And Dan, one of your favorite movies is Pete's Dragon? Haven't thought about that one in years. Was it the helen Reddy song, the dragon or the hero? And I saw a lot of fantasy in your books -- have you read the Philip Pullman trilogy, His Dark Materials? Really good.

Anonymous said...

We also need to tell Catherine Zeta Jones that her shilling for T-Mobile just became even more un-hip and an anchor on her career.

Anonymous said...

Sent this:

I am a Cingular user and I am already looking for a new company in two months when my service agreement is up because they have caused me a lot of problems. I will not be switching to T-Mobile however, after reading that you caved to pressure from the American Family Association and pulled advertising during "Rescue Me". The AFA has been identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group. They are anti-semitic, homophobic, and anything but pro-family. Past boycotts have been laughed off by major companies such as Ford, Microsoft, and Kraft. Yet, T-Mobile decided to fold to the agenda of hate and intolerance. I do not want the AFA deciding what I can and cannot watch, and I will not support a company that answers to them.

Michael in New York said...

Great email anonymous. And remember, they didn't just pull ads from Rescue Me, they pulled them from an entire cable channel, FX, which is an even more extreme measure.

Anonymous said...

"FX" is "Fox" without the "o".
The fundies are attacking their own sugar daddy, Rupert Murdoch.
LOL

Anonymous said...

Ahem. Please pardon the commercial message, but it's for a good cause.

Hit T-Mobile where it hurts and switch to Working Assets wireless.

Part of your phone bill every month will go to support progressive groups -- among the groups chosen by our members to receive funding this year are Planned Parenthood, Lambda Legal Defense Fund, Amnesty, Apollo Alliance, Veterans for Peace, etc. etc.

Plus, a lot of other great political activities to fight the right. Check us out at http://www.workingassets.com.

Thanks and now back to your regularly-scheduled blog comments...

Anonymous said...

But would you have a problem with T-mobile advertising on say the 700 Club? Methinks you might.

Michael in New York said...

No, I wouldn't have a problem with T-Mobile advertising on 700 Club (which I believe I offered as an example in some other post, maybe on Americablog). I think Pat Robertson's a nut, but there are lots of other people on that fundie show and why shouldn't T-Mobile want relgiious right-wingers for their customers. If someone on 700 Club starts calling for the execution of gays, I'd focus on that person. When Dr. Laura misrepresents her credentials and calls gays an aberation and other Nazi-like terms, they become fair game. 700 Club overall doesn't go that far. I have no problem with T-Mobile advertising on Fox News or lots of other channels I don't like or don't watch. I think T-Mobile shuold get out of the TV criticism game and stick to what it knows: cell phone service.

Anonymous said...

Heck, Michael, I just threw most of that into my blogger profile willy nilly only to have something in there. What's presented is only a tiny fraction of what I read, watch, and listen. I don't really "do" profiles so I left it rather sparse :)

In the 80s when I was much younger, I think maybe it was the hero (whose name I can't remember now!) that interested me the most... And no I haven't heard of Philip Pullman, sorry.

Michael in New York said...

Dan, I'm sure it was Pete (Sean Marshall) and not Helen Reddy. Give Pullman a try sometime; he's great.

Anonymous said...

Whoa Kelly: Sorry you are having a bad shift. But if T-Mobile were on the ball you would have received key messages and training from your shift supervisor on how to handle the calls. Too bad your employer has hung you out to dry.

Michael in New York said...

Well, Kelly, you're just as anonymous as "anonymous." Your identity has only been effective as of this month and there is no email to respond to you personally -- how are you more identifiable than anonymous? You're not. I did call customer service and they dealt with my call quite appropriately -- they listened politely as I made my complaint, wisely didn't try and argue the issue but simply let me speak my mind, put me on hold briefly, offered me a small token for my feeling aggrieved (100 extra minutes for the next month) which I politely declined and said what I wanted was for the cell phone company I pay money into to not associate themselves with extremist hate groups. They then said they'd write my compaint up. What number would you suggest people call other than customer service or corporate headquarters and what email other than the one provided on T-Mobile's website? Obviously, sending emails works -- that's what got the head of the company to hastily pull his ads from an entire cable channel in the first place: the demands of a few people who may not even have been T-Mobile customers but sent in emails. I'd rather not spend my time placing phone calls and sending emails -- but since T-Mobile caved into the extremist agenda of a fringe hate group (unlike Ford and Disney and most other major corporations which rightly thank the AFA for their input but politely say they're going to do business with all types of people and respect all types of people and basically ignored their threats). If T-Mobile would do the same, paying customers like myself wouldn't have to get involved.

Tk said...

When I arrived at this post, I saw the corporate number and the website info -- was that an unmarked addition to the post, or does Kelly need a new optometrist visit?

In any case, Kelly, you seem to be unfamiliar with consumer action methods. One of them is to contact a company by any means which will get its attention. Customer Care (a sad euphemism, in the case of so many companies), corporate headquarters, skywriting, impersonation or playacting, you name it. As long as there's no personal harm, it's fair game. It's not personal against you or your coworkers, any more than you personally represent the actions of your employer.

Maybe you're just a troll and I've been had . . .

Anonymous said...

Hey Michael, While I agree with you that no company should try and force a show on or off the air, I have to admit the point you are trying to accomplish is getting tarnished by the opposite side. You have one guy shilling a phone network to support Planned parenthood which we all know is loved by some and hated by others. You have another guy going with the follow the shepperd view of Fox News being to far to the right so don't watch it. It's too bad a good point has to attract a bad defense to go alongside with you.

pedro velasquez said...

t appears that the American Family Association's documentary, "Speechless: Silencing the Christians", sportsbook will not be broadcast here in Grand Rapids ("WOOD-TV passes on anti-gay ad," Press, Feb. 12). The radical homosexual organization, called the Human Rights Campaign is taking credit for silencing it. It is ironic that an organization with such a name works to take away the human right to free speech. It proves the point of this documentary, which is to show to what extremes radical gay activists will go to silence bet nfl opposition to their agenda.
Taxpayers should note that tax-supported Grand Valley State University has its own Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center assistant director who applauds this silencing of taxpayers' free speech. Also note how WOOD-TV folded under the pressure; http://www.enterbet.com let them never claim that they are neutral or courageous.