Rebuffing the American Family Association
What do Campbells Soup, Pepsi and IKEA all have in common? They are all targets by the radical organization the "American Family Association" (AFA). The AFA accuses all three companies of "taking sides in the culture war" by supporting "homosexual organizations" and "homosexual marriage." These sorts of campaigns by the AFA represent nothing more than 3rd grade name-calling. They reek of immature activism that might have worked ten years ago, but shouldn't work now.
And by all stretches of the imagination, it appears that they are not working, given that all three companies have rebuffed the AFA and continue to support LGBT rights initiatives in the workplace and LGBT rights organizations.
First Campbells stood up to the bullying tactics of the AFA. Campbells first caught the ire of the AFA by taking out a few ads in some LGBT publications to market Swanson Chicken Broth. The ads featured a lesbian family cooking dinner in a kitchen. The AFA said that these ads "sent a message that homosexual parents constitute a family and are worthy of support." (Ugh, that statement just reeks of hate.) In response, Campbells told the AFA to simmer down (pun intended). Per an official company statement: "Our position on this is pretty straightforward. Inclusion and diversity play an important role in our business, and that fact is reflected in our marketing plan." (Note: If you want to pledge to send Campbells Soup a note thanking them for supporting LGBT rights, click here.)
Next up in the AFA's crossfire was Pepsi. The AFA was outraged by Pepsi's financial support of Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) and the Human Rights Campaign, and angered that Pepsi offered diversity training seminars for its employees. Oh, the horror! Last week, the AFA also got wind of a UK Pepsi commercial where a man passes by two women at a bar, and instead makes his way over to a dude. This really got the AFA's knickers in a bunch, as in response they've launched a new Web site (boycottpepsico.com) to blast Pepsi. (Note: We've countered their action here at change.org by offering our own readers a chance to thank Pepsi for supporting LGBT rights and LGBT organizations.) Pepsi hasn't budged to the AFA's bogus claims, and instead issued a statement that valued the dignity of all Pepsi employees, including the LGBT ones: "Among the values promoted by the PepsiCo Foundation is ensuring a work environment that is respectful and where associates are valued for their contributions."
And then there's IKEA, which joined the AFA's shit list because (gasp!) IKEA features LGBT couples in its catalogue and commercials. IKEA waved off the AFA like a bothersome insect. Per Homosexuality is one of the essential elements of living in contemporary society." Teehee. That not only sends the message that IKEA will continue to market to LGBT communities, but I love that they say us LGBT people are essential elements of society. Talk about putting the AFA in their place.
It's great to see three mega-companies rebuff the efforts of the AFA to hate. A few months ago, McDonald's had a chance to do the same thing, too. They failed. But it's good to see Pepsi, Campbells and IKEA not backing down from support for equal rights.
Michael Jones
is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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