Miata Mailing List: March 1992, Message #2
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   From: (none)
Subject: Religious interference
   Date: (none)


Hi folks,

I found this in the 'Christian American' for January/February 1992,
Volume 3, Number 1, and thought some of you might be interested in its
implications.  It was not copyrighted.

Headline:  Mazda Drop's 'Saturday Night Live' Advertising

        Irvine, Calif. (EP) -- After being targeted for boycott by
the American Family Association (AFA), Mazda Motors of America has
withdrawn its advertising support of NBC's "Saturday Night Live."
        "We have pulled our advertising," Mazda spokesperson Jack
Pitney told 'Adweek' magazine.  "We are completely off the show as
of this weekend.  Wildmon brought to our attention some of the
potential problems with advertisements on 'Saturday Night Live.'
We reviewed our internal procedures for screening and concluded
he was correct; that we should not have been advertising."
        Wildmon said his organization asked sponsors of "Saturday
Night Live" to withdraw their advertising four months ago.  AFA's
request included copies of scripts for four sexually-explicit skits.
Wildmon said, "Mazda wrote back, 'If you don't like it, just change
the channel."  At that point, AFA decided to launch a boycott of
Mazda.  Wildmon contacted his organization's 850,000 supporters,
and urged them to stop buying Mazda products, and to let Mazda
dealers know why they were boycotting.
        Wildmon said his organization received strong support from
Mazda dealers across the country.  "I think this was a case where
the corporate officers were out of touch with the local dealers and
their customers," he said.
        Wildmon said that other companies - including AT&T, MCI,
Dr. Pepper, Wendy's, and Pepsico - have also discontinued sponsorship
of "Saturday Night Live."  "They're hurting," he said.  "They're
selling a lot of beer advertising right now.  Beer people don't
care what they sponsor."
        Most of the other companies that have withdrawn from
"Saturday Night Live" deny that their decision had anyhting to do
with pressure from AFA.  Wildmon isn't surprised.  "I haven't dealt
with a company yet that said that their decision was because of us,"
he said. "It's just been 101 strange coincidences."
        The group is clearly having an influence.  In August, after
several advertisers withdrew from "Saturday Night Live," the National
Television Association, comprised of NBC, CBS, and ABC, sent a letter
to 600 network advertisers urging them to ignore AFA.