Monday, December 22, 2008

Wingnut Frenzy Over Campbell Soup Ads

What with the economy in the worse shape since perhaps the 1930's, millions of American families facing foreclosure and the loss of their homes, people unable to pay utility bills in the midst of winter, there are any number of things Christian organizations could do to assist their fellow man. But not the American Family Association. Oh no, the lunatics at AFA are instead in a frenzy over the fact that Campbell Soup has placed ads in - oh the horror - gay publications. Forget the poor, the homeless, and the hungry. The "gay agenda" and its supporters trump all else. At least in the minds of the mentally imbalanced and those looking for more donations from the sheep like followers. Never mind that the LGBT community has consumer purchasing power in the neighborhood of $800 billion and any company in the business of making money would be foolish to ignore such a niche market. Here are some highlights from AFA's "news" website, OneNewsNow:
*
The American Family Association (AFA) says Christian consumers need to know that the Campbell Soup Company embraces the homosexual agenda. Campbell Soup bought two 2-page ads in the December and January issues of The Advocate, the nation's largest homosexual magazine. The ads promote their Swanson line of broth, and one of the ads highlights the lives of two lesbians, who are portrayed as being married, along with "their" son. Other ads feature chefs from New York City.
*
Randy Sharp, AFA's director of special projects, says concerned consumers should contact company officials and ask them to stop endorsing homosexuality. "When you specifically target a homosexual magazine, then your company is basically endorsing these activities; you're endorsing the lifestyle," claims Sharp. "And in one ad, which...clearly shows two lesbians who say they are married, who say they have a son together, ...the Campbell Soup Company is saying 'we approve of homosexual marriage.' There is no question whatsoever of what the intentions of the company are."
*
In an Action Alert to its supporters, AFA accuses Campbell of normalizing same-sex families. . . . Anthony Sanzio, a Campbell Soup Company spokesperson, tells OneNewsNow that the company reaches out to all segments of society. "We support all types of families, regardless of how they're defined, [and have done so] for more than 100 years," Sanzio offers. "We advertise in a variety of different media outlets that appeal to a broad spectrum of society. That's what we're doing here, and that's what we'll continue to do."

No comments: