bb_baptist
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Companies spend billions of dollars each year to advertise their products, in hopes of attracting customers — and their money. Many of those companies have been targets of boycotts, but Peter Beckman, with AdCritic.com, believes such efforts are usually a waste of time.
“After a week or two or after a month, people start losing interest in the boycott because either it takes too much effort or it inconvenienced them,” Beckman said.
But Bruce Friedrich, campaign coordinator for the liberal activist group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) sees boycotts differently.
“We have found boycotts to be very successful,” Friedrich said. “Obviously, corporations exist to maximize their bottom line, and if you’re able to adversely affect their bottom line then the corporation has to listen.”
Bill Johnson, with the pro-family American Decency Association, admits the word “boycott” doesn’t appear in the Bible, but said the precept is there.
“As Christians, we are called to be good stewards of our finances and I believe that’s another aspect of boycotting,” Johnson said. “We are being discerning in how and on what we are spending our money.”
Boycott organizers say it can take years to eventually see a change.
One way to maximize the impact on major corporations is to make sure local retailers are aware that you won’t be buying certain products or services until the corporation makes a change. Virtually everyone agrees that the most effective boycotts are those in which the goals of the boycott are clearly defined. This energizes boycotters and lets the targeted organization know exactly what is expected.
- By Mark Cowan, FOF
“After a week or two or after a month, people start losing interest in the boycott because either it takes too much effort or it inconvenienced them,” Beckman said.
But Bruce Friedrich, campaign coordinator for the liberal activist group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) sees boycotts differently.
“We have found boycotts to be very successful,” Friedrich said. “Obviously, corporations exist to maximize their bottom line, and if you’re able to adversely affect their bottom line then the corporation has to listen.”
Bill Johnson, with the pro-family American Decency Association, admits the word “boycott” doesn’t appear in the Bible, but said the precept is there.
“As Christians, we are called to be good stewards of our finances and I believe that’s another aspect of boycotting,” Johnson said. “We are being discerning in how and on what we are spending our money.”
Boycott organizers say it can take years to eventually see a change.
One way to maximize the impact on major corporations is to make sure local retailers are aware that you won’t be buying certain products or services until the corporation makes a change. Virtually everyone agrees that the most effective boycotts are those in which the goals of the boycott are clearly defined. This energizes boycotters and lets the targeted organization know exactly what is expected.
- By Mark Cowan, FOF
). I think it also has something to do with the size of the company. I can tell you that most of the people who protested and called for the boycott against Stevens Incorporated here in Little Rock were not from Arkansas. Since they really had no support in the first place here in a state that is a big supporter of the 2nd ammendment and hunting, they came off losing even more support with their immoral tactics, looking like fools, and going to jail. It was not effective here in this part of the country, but perhaps it would have been in a more liberal (Communist) part of the country say like California. I also don't know many Christians who would be willing to do the things that PETA does during a boycott and therefore, except for a small blurb in the media during the Southern Baptist Convention which is almost always counteracted with public opinion polls or interviews that paints Southern Baptists as a bunch of nuts, that is about as much exposure as the boycott gets. Further, I am not so sure that this has actually worked in the boycott of Disney as I know very few Southern Baptists who actually believed in it enough to follow through with the boycott. (I do and have BTW). Most people today are still going to Disney World, going to see Disney at the movies, and renting their stuff at home. This has really turned into a symbolism over substance thing that the Convention did with the Boycott.