I can’t recall a more complete and quick exodus of major national advertisers from any media personality’s show than that from Rush Limbaugh’s daily three hours of broadcast skunk urine. In the past few weeks, Rush has lost all of his major national advertisers and some locals, and cheapjack online dating sites are not going to pay the bills. Limbaugh’s cavalier attitude notwithstanding — it’s nothing, a couple of fries lost from a large container — his multi-million dollar contract is paid from those ‘couple of fries’ like Ford, GM, Toyota, Sears and other brand names who shell out big bucks to advertise on Premiere Radio Networks, Rush’s employer. Now all of those major brands have asked their ads not be run on any controversial radio talk show, so that would include not only Rush, but his regressive radioland buddies like Michael Savage, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly. Seems like Limbaugh really could bring down the right-wing radio Tower of Babble. Hoo-frickin’-ray!
EXCLUSIVE: 140 Companies Drop Advertising From Rush Limbaugh [Update: 142]
By Judd Legum
ThinkProgress.org
Mar 12, 2012ThinkProgress has obtained an internal memo from Premiere Radio Networks listing 96 national companies that have “specifically asked” their advertisments not be played during the Rush Limbaugh Show. Premiere is the distributor of Limbaugh’s program. The advertisers have also requested to be excluded from other right-wing hosts including Michael Savage, Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity. According to the memo, the listed companies’ advertisements should be excluded from these programs because they have been “deemed to be offensive.”
The existence of the memo was first reported over the weekend by Radio-info.com, an industry newsletter. Radio-info did not publish the full list of companies. The memo was posted website of the Traffic Directors Guild of America, an association of professionals who distribute paid advertisements to radio stations. It was quickly deleted but ThinkProgress obtained a copy from a Google snapshot of the site taken on March 9.
Previously, ThinkProgress has reported that 50 companies requested their advertising be pulled from the Rush Limbaugh show following his sexist attacks on Sandra Fluke. The publication of the memo adds an additional 90 companies to the list of companies that have dropped Limbaugh:
21st Century Insurance • Hotels.com • Rite Aid • Ace Hardware • Honda • Robitussin • Acura • IBM • Sam Adams • Advance Auto Parts • Icy Hot • Sam’s Club • Advil (All products) • Intuit/Small Business • Schiff – Digestive Advantage • Alacer/Emergen-C • Schiff – Mega Red • Allegra (all products) • Johnson & Johnson (All Brands) • Schiff – Move Free • Kohl’s • Schiff – Sustenex • Ally Bank • La Quinta • Scotts Miracle-Gro (all products) • American Express • Lifetime • Autozone • Little Caesars • Sony • Lowe’s • State Farm • British Petroleum • Luxottica • Staples • Bullfrog Sunblock • Macy’s • Sterling/Kay Jared Jewelers • Caltrate • MasterCard • Subway • Centrum • McDonalds • Takeda Uloric • Chapstick • Midas • The Home Depot • Clorox (Pinesol/Homecare) • Napa Auto Parts • ThermaCare • Cortizone • National Realtor • Toyota • DeVry • NBC-TV • Discover Card • Office Depot • Twinings of London • Domino’s Pizza • Office Max • Tyson/Wright Brand Bacon • Exxon/Exxon Mobil • One Main Financial • Unisom • Farmers Insurance • United Healthcare • Ford • Orkin • U.S. Army • Outback • U. S. Postal Service • General Motors (All products -GM Certified Service • Chevy • Onstar • Cadillac • etc) • Preparation H • Visa • Gold Bond (all products • ProNutrients (all products) • Walgreens • Grainger • Progressive Insurance • Wal-Mart • Green Mountain Coffee • Prudential • Wells Fargo • Hallmark • Radio Shack • Wrigley • H&R Block • Rent-A-Center • Yahoo!
Check out all 140 companies (plus their statements, when available) on our Pinterest.
You can view a copy of the memo below:
Premiere Networks List Of Advertisers Asking Not To Advertise On Limbaugh And Other Right-Wing Hosts
Read more here.
Copyyright 2012 ThinkProgress and Judd Legum.
Art by Mario Piperni.