Posted on 05/31/2008 7:52:40 PM PDT by LibWhacker
Sit down and shut up?
Easier said than done, a Kern car dealer and the Oklahoma writer of the company’s controversial radio ad are finding.
The spots have already finished a three-month run in eastern Kern and the Antelope Valley, but renewed interest prompted even the Ford Motor Co. to weigh in Wednesday.
Kieffe & Sons Ford’s ads suggesting Christians “just tell the other 14 percent to sit down and shut up” had been Internet fodder for months, blog posts indicate.
In recent days the topic suddenly resurfaced, said Tehachapi resident Dave Salyers. Numerous e-mails with the ad attached popped up again seemingly out of the blue.
On Wednesday, Salyers dropped an electronic note to the automaker.
“Is this the image that Ford wishes to present — that it willingly discriminates against nonreligious people in the United States?” Salyers wrote.
He got a reply the same day from Christie — no last name given — in Ford’s customer relationship center.
“Our investigation has determined that the advertising was placed in error,” Christie’s e-mail said. “Corrective actions have been taken to prevent this from happening again.” Ford spokesman Mark Truby confirmed in an e-mail Christie’s response was “legitimate.”
Truby did not immediately respond to questions about what actions had been taken or how the ad was placed in error.
NO OFFENSE
Rick Kieffe, president of Kieffe & Sons Ford, said he didn’t regret the ad but was sorry if it had offended anyone.
“I don’t regret the sentiment at all,” said Kieffe, who bought the 48-year-old dealership from his father in 1974. “It’s what we believe.”
Kieffe & Sons has sites in Mojave and Rosamond.
The dealer’s Web site Thursday bore a statement about the ad that included an apology “to all who were offended.”
Kieffe said he’d been contacted by Ford Motor Co. after the manufacturer heard complaints from numerous “blog-lo-dites.”
The company asked him to post something saying he was sorry if he’d offended anyone, Kieffe said.
When asked whether he’ll use longtime ad man J.W. Horne of Oklahoma for future promos, Kieffe didn’t hesitate.
“Without question,” Kieffe said. “He’s a middle-America person.”
NERVE CENTER
Horne, meanwhile, said it was “very unfortunate some were offended” by the spot.
“Our intentions are good,” Horne said in a phone interview.
But, he added, “the truth is the truth.”
On his blog at jwhorne2.blogspot.com, Horne seemed to relish his moment in the limelight.
“... Isn’t it just too bad that so many people got their feelings hurt over one little ole sixty second radio commercial,” Horne wrote Thursday. “... The backlash from some of those self-styled unbelievers is the point I was making about why some people should be told to sit down and shut up.”
NO HELP
Salyers, the Tehachapi resident, said he was disappointed the controversy was back because reaction from extremists on both sides had made the discussion “not helpful.”
A meeting of free thinkers already scheduled Thursday night in Lancaster would now be “hijacked” by the issue, he said.
Navigating Kern’s conservative culture is hard for those without church ties, he said.
“I would feel uncomfortable saying I was nonreligious in certain areas of Kern County,” Salyers said, “because often they are treated differently.”
The Kieffe & Sons ad has ramped up useless and divisive rhetoric, he said.
“This illustrates the climate that people are afraid of,” he said.
“Did you know that there are people in this country who want prayer out of schools, “Under God” out of the Pledge, and “In God We Trust” to be taken off our money?
“But did you know that 86 percent of Americans say they believe in God? Now, since we all know that 86 out of every 100 of us are Christians who believe in God, we at Kieffe and Sons Ford wonder why we don’t just tell the other 14 percent to sit down and shut up.
"I guess maybe I just offended 14 percent of the people who are listening to this message. Well, if that is the case, then I say that’s tough; this is America, folks — it’s called free speech. And none of us at Kieffe and Sons Ford are afraid to speak up. Kieffe and Sons Ford on Sierra Highway in Mojave and Rosamond: if we don’t see you today, by the grace of God, we’ll be here tomorrow.”
I LOVE it!!
Im not a Christian and I also love it.
Sit down and shut up, Godless pinkos!
I think it’s safe to say that 14% won’t buy a new Ford anyhow.
I love it!
If he paid for the ad with his money and he is trying to increase sales to his business. No problem. If the atheists don’t like it they can buy Chevys.
It’s not Ford’s place to say if it was a mistake or not. The dealer did an image ad for the dealership - wouldn’t even qualify for matching money from Ford. Now - if they did take money from Ford, then the mistake is paying that money, as image ads are not supposed to be co-pays.
Ahh come on now.... I am a Christian and I LOVE Chevys....
I have an ‘04 Z71 and a ‘73 Camaro.
‘sides chevy’s are the ones with the Cross emblems ;)
Cross emblems ? Hmm. I see your point.
Besides my old Chevy really inspired me to pray more regularly. Like every morning when I’d go to start it :-)
"I guess maybe I just offended 14 percent of the people who are listening to this message. Well, if that is the case, then I say that’s tough; this is America, folks — it’s called free speech. And none of us at Kieffe and Sons Ford are afraid to speak up.......
Hear! Hear!
Well Said!
Well Done!
There's this one, too:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3e4sx_hybrid-suv-commercial_blog
That would depend on the dealership's contract with Ford. I don't know how it works with dealerships, but franchise contracts often give the franchisor significant say in the franchisee's business decisions, particularly image-related ones like this.
Well, if that is the case, then I say that’s tough; this is America, folks — it’s called free speech.
It does seem a little ironic to cite free speech in an ad that tells people who disagree to "shut up." But I suppose he'd recognize his opponents are perfectly free to ignore him and attack his position and his ad.
The new dollar coins are out now.
The Post Offices are giving them as change.
They do not mention God on them.
No more “In God We Trust”
There is a movement to refuse them when offered as change.
Another good reason not to be bothered with those irritating little coins
>86 percent of Americans say they believe in God? Now, since we all know that 86 out of every 100 of us are Christians
I’m not “offended,” but I don’t believe non-Christians that do believe in God (not Allah) are less than 1% of the population. Nobody has to assume that I’m Christian, when I’m not, just because I do happen to believe in God.
Weird ad. That said...there are more important things to get up in arms about, now, aren’t there.
I’ve been hearing that ad on the radio.
I have also been buying from Kieffe & Sons (The no bull place) in Mojave for many years since the Ridgecrest Ford dealer seems never to want my business.
I hate that ad as well.
Wintertime ( a woman)
WWJD?
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