Salvation Army Learns What Oreo Cookies Already Knows: Americans Like Groups That Support Gay Rights

[EveningStar]

AlterNet:

 

Lauren Kelley

July 2, 2012

 

Companies like Oreo have realized that supporting gay rights is good business. The Salvation Army is learning that lesson the hard way.

[Pepper]

"AlterNet is an award-winning news magazine and online community that creates original journalism and amplifies the best of hundreds of other independent media sources. AlterNet’s aim is to inspire action and advocacy on the environment, human rights and civil liberties, social justice, media, health care issues, and more. Our aim is to stimulate, inform, and instigate."

 

[Casino67]

'We alter the news to fit our agenda.'

[Valin]

Anyone care to wager "Gay" Oreo's will be gone from most shelves this time next year?

[Casino67]

Anyone care to wager "Gay" Oreo's will be gone from most shelves this time next year?

 

May still be popular in San Francisco and certain CNN personnel.

[pollyannaish]

This article actually has a certain kind of merit, although I don't think the author derives the right conclusions because of the lens she is looking through.

 

On average, gay and lesbian households have significantly more disposable income than traditional households. They have a huge interest in lifestyle creation as well and tend to be more culturally elite.

 

Which means they are not going to be purveyors of Oreo Cookies, McDonalds and other inexpensive mass market favorites. They are more interested in exotic foods and locations. Sooo...Kraft comes up with a novelty rainbow Oreo, that not only appeals to young children, but allows them to show "support" for the gay community on their "special day/month/whatever." Suddenly, a whole group of elites who normally turn up their noses at the riff raff run out and buy special rainbow cookies. Regular folks, gay, lesbian, straight, young, old, tall, short just keep buying them as normal because....well, they like the cookies. A few flame throwers scream about boycotts...but nobody listens. They probably never liked Oreos in the first place.

 

So of course they are going to sell more cookies. They tapped an uninterested and largely disdainful market by manipulating them with rainbows. Everyone feels good.

 

Personally, I hate identity manipulation so much that if I see something aimed at women or mothers that is intended to get me to buy it based on my group...I intentionally don't. I find it patronizing. Like those stupid pink ribbons for breast cancer. Both my mother and my cousin-in-law are breast cancer survivors. I support research like crazy. I'm not going to buy yogurt because it has a pink ribbon on it. I'm going to buy yogurt that I like. AND an organization like Susan G. Komen is not going to get me boycott that yogurt because their pink ribbon is on it and they gave a small donation to Planned Parenthood. I'm disappointed...but I like the yogurt. The rest is non of my business.

 

But as far as the salvation army goes, that is a charitable, religious-based organization. THIS approach is a blatant attempt to manipulate them into supporting something that is against their religion. A group that has more disposable income doesn't like their beliefs and withholds donations, hurting the charity. We have no idea what would happen if they did support the gay agenda...they would probably lose just as much, if not more money. BECAUSE THEY AREN'T SELLING ANYTHING!

 

This is not a valid comparison and only a person with an agenda would argue otherwise. This is a comparison between an organization manipulating a group to make more money, and a group intimidating a group to make them support something by withholding charitable giving.

 

It's like comparing apple cookies to orange charities. It doesn't work.

 

And it is the perfect illustration of WHY I hate boycotts, identity politics and unfair and unbalanced reporting.