GEICO Pulls Its Ads from Glenn Beck Show

UPDATE #2: The New York Times covers our campaign.

UPDATE 08-13-09: Today we announced that four more major companies -- ConAgra (maker of Healthy Choice products), Roche, Sanofi-Aventis, and RadioShack -- have agreed to pull their ads from Glenn Beck's show. Our post on that news is here.

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Great news -- yet another major company has acted in response to our campaign calling on Glenn Beck's advertisers to stop supporting his show. GEICO told us that they will no longer run ads during Beck's show.

This comes on the heels of news last week that four other advertisers -- Lawyers.com, Progressive Insurance, Procter & Gamble, and SC Johnson -- also distanced themselves from Beck. None of this would have been possible without the thousands of people -- more than 75,000, now -- who have taken action and signed our petition to Glenn Beck's advertisers.

From the press release we're sending out this morning:

"On Tuesday, August 4, GEICO instructed its ad buying service to redistribute its inventory of rotational spots on FOX-TV to their other network programs, exclusive of the Glenn Beck program," said a spokesperson for GEICO Corporate Communications in an email to ColorOfChange.org.  "As of August 4, GEICO no longer runs any paid advertising spots during Mr. Beck's program."

"We applaud GEICO and all of the other companies who have stepped forward to pull their ads from Glenn Beck," said James Rucker, executive director of ColorOfChange.org. "Beck's rhetoric is dangerous to the fabric of our democracy, and we are heartened that so many big companies feel the same way. We won't stop here -- we're going to continue our fight to see that as many of Beck's advertisers pull their support as possible."

We're making incredible progress. As Glenn Beck's advertisers learn of his hateful rhetoric, and how deeply it concerns thousands of organized people across the country, they're deciding that they don't want their companies associated with Beck's divisive fear-mongering.

If you haven't already signed our petition to Beck's advertisers, please do, and please ask your friends and family to do the same (there's a sample email you can send them here). We're going to keep reaching out to Beck's remaining advertisers, and we'll keep you posted on ways you can help keep the pressure on.

Thanks so much for your support -- we couldn't do this without you.

Comments

[puppymama]

I am half Puerto Rican/half white and I hate white people. We are ridiculous. Seriously. Look at us.

[freespeecher]

why do progressives fear free speech? .. Is it because they have no tolerance or do their intellectuals possess a limited ability to comprehend freedom.

[chip1212]

i went in to try and buy a volkswagon last week for my son to use for college ; i had test drove a car about 5 weeks ago and when i went it to buy the salesman laugh and said "good luck' and if i can find you one it would be $3000 over sticker(at jetta TDI sport). this program was a farce for most...it drove up the price of "clunkers" for the poor that most need help, simple supply and demand,hurt the lowend sales centers, gave no value to trade in and got more for the new cars due to demand so did anyone realy get a discount? some maybe? but most lost at least $1500 on a trade and paid $1500 more on a buy! and when the pricesgo back down to reflected the "realeconomy" the will have overpaid for there car. those of us that had no "clunker" got screwed brcause the goverment artificially drove up prices for a short time. you cant mess with open markets it unfair

[windjobsDOTorg]

Glen Beck has always had a "mightier than thou" attitude and it seems like he is always talking down to his audience, let's hope this is a wake-up call for Mr. Beck.

[getalife123]

I'm just curious why everyone is emailing, complaining and calling these companies. First of all thats only job security for the people answering the phone or emails. As long as the emails keep coming, there will have to be someone there to answer them. So you are really not boycotting anyone and the person who received the email probably does not really give a crap either way. I dont watch Beck or care what commercial comes on in the middle of a television show. But I can guarentee you that if I was watching something that I didnt like, I would simply turn the channel. It's really quite easy. AND who cares what commercial is on and how stupid it is?

[betty22]

"First, they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me."
(Martin Niemoeller in "Dietrich Bonhoeffer," Christian History, Even though I did like Bush Republican and his policys, the press and everyone said worse about him and even worse about Clinton Democrat
So who is next???

[JADEONA]

You just gave Glen Beck the biggest boost in ratings by dropping the advertsing. Keep up the good work Geico you will be sorry you pulled your ad I think allstate will be filling that slot..

[JADEONA]

We need to drop Geico and there Stupid cave men ad . Geico is the loser the glen beck audience is far more than any of the other networks combined so I think FOX SHOULD DROP GEICO ADVERTIZING>

[Stefan Sirucek - Huffpost Blogger]

I'm not surprised GEICO pulled its ads. Compared to Glenn Beck's viewers the GEICO cavemen are a highly evolved species.

[RyanKane13]

Ohhhhhhhhhhh...... SNAP!

[JADEONA]

Mr Beck did not call the president a racist but in my opinion he has shown a real tendency to favor people of color. The Boston police officer was good example of how his racism is beginning to show. I think if white people and black people continue to geo down this path of racism and if Obama and the white house keep playing the race card then I hope we never have another black president again because I am sick of this stupid racial divide that both sides seem to like to play. GET OVER IT!!!

[tman418]

Yeah. It's too bad not one single white person was chosen by Obama to be in a position of government.

[Stefan Sirucek - Huffpost Blogger]

Beck didn't call the president a racist?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MI_0Kt_e3Go

Yes. He did.

[Jared15]

AAAAAAAHHH­HAAAHHHAAA­HHHAAAHHHA­AAHHHAAA!!­!!!

If Glen Beck is not making money, then Glen Beck is not long for the surreal world of Faux "News".

[gandolf101]

still the top show in his time slot though , the man is highly effective in reporting of what Obama is doing and planning to do in the future.
Beck explaines this and thats why the left fears him.

[arizonabay]

Beck is telling people like your self fairytales that they want to hear. Your handle says it all living in a fantasy world.

[jorgesgorges]

This is good news. A lot of the thing GB says are completely irresponsible and shortsighted.

[newsyone]

I think Beck is going down. Even though the ads were only shifted, that might be enough to make the honchos get nervous. Maybe he has a bigger following than I realize but most people I talk to seem to think he is a brick short of a load. I don't watch FOX or CNN anymore at all, I'v got my own opinions .

[lynpym]

Thanks for your work and persistence on this, James. It's very gratifying that at least SOME hate speech is being checked.

[alex92ut]

I would be very surprised if any of you have ever watched The Glenn Beck Show. Maybe excerpts taken out of context but not the show. He has more integrity than anyone on TV. And it is because he is so good at digging up Obama Whitehouse links to far left groups that he has been targeted by Van Jones' group.
It doesn't matter what they do Glenn will stay on the air. He has a larger audience that Olberman, Maddow, Matthews and that Ed person combined.

[CynAnne]

Hmm, let's examine your claim, shall we, alex? When Beckles says these lunatic things, and they're recorded in their entirety..how can they be "..taken out of context.."? Here's a link to help you think: http://mediamatters.org/search/tag/glenn_beck_program ..DOZENS of documented examples of GB saying things that are, to put it politely, bull-sh*t, plain and simple. Whether you want to face it, or not, is entirely up to you...

[janeyre]

Oh, no you didn't say that... I have viewed Glenn, he is an Alcoholic. I am not interested in this joker. He is so full of it... Where was he, when Bush was gutting the country? Where was he, when all of those who called themselves Patriotic were trying to take away freedoms from us?
The Republicans, don't like people. They only care for Corporations, Wealthy, Rich, White...
For the most part... Heck, they don't even like poor Whites... What a group and this drunk, isn't
worth listening to. I don't anymore... Both he and Lou Dobbs are self righteous...

[Jared15]

That would sound rational if it were true. Good try by another misguided Beck fan.