Cybercast News Service
www.cnsnews.com
Advertisers Stick With CBS Despite Document Flap
By Robert B. Bluey
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
September 16, 2004
(CNSNews.com) - Even though CBS News has taken a battering in the media
for using allegedly fake military documents on last week's "60 Minutes
II" episode, advertisers and CBS affiliates said Wednesday they had no
reason to abandon the network.
More than 20 companies advertised their products in either national or local
spots during the Sept. 8 broadcast of "60 Minutes II."
During that program, CBS News anchor Dan Rather unveiled purported
military records casting a negative light on President Bush's National Guard
service. Forensic experts and typographers have since
called those documents fake.
Some radio talk show hosts and Internet blogs have suggested consumers target
CBS advertisers, but spokesmen for the companies whose ads appeared during last
week's episode said they had received minimal or no response about the matter.
UPS spokesman Steve Holmes, whose company advertised its UPS Stores during the
episode, said advertising placements are made after significant research. He also cautioned that the spots wouldn't be pulled based
on the content of one television program.
"Because our advertising placements are very strategic, based on very
sound research that we do and studying the demographics of the shows to make
sure we're reaching the right target, we're not going to make knee-jerk
reactions to things that we see on various shows," Holmes said.
Pepsi Co. spokesman Dave DeCecco said he wasn't aware of any internal discussions
about the CBS controversy, which he attributed to a lack of complaints from
consumers.
"I get complaints every day about something," DeCecco said. "If there were a significant amount of calls it would
turn into a discussion, but it must mean there haven't been a significant
number of calls."
Pepsi doesn't typically specify that its ads be placed on "60
Minutes," DeCecco said. Instead, he noted that
any number of primetime television shows could feature the commercials. Local advertisers are responsible for some of the spots,
he said.
The mobile phone provider Cingular hasn't heard from consumers about the matter
either, according to Clay Owen, the company's senior director of public
relations. Cingular advertised its calling plan during
the show.
Drug companies also hadn't heard complaints as of Wednesday. Spokeswomen
for GlaxoSmithKline, maker of Wellbutrin XL, and Novartis, maker of Zelnorm,
said their products' commercials didn't trigger a reaction with the public.
"The ad buy would have been made last year, probably in April,"
Dominicis said. "It's an overall buy at CBS and
it's done well in advance, so we don't have any influence over
programming."
Several other car manufactures that advertised didn't return calls Wednesday. Kia, Lincoln and Acura each ran two ads during the
program, while Nissan had one spot. CNSNews.com
was unable to reach spokesmen for Campbell's Soup Co., which ran two ads, or
Kimberly-Clarke, which had two ads for Kleenex during the episode.
Meanwhile, the network's television affiliates downplayed any effect on their
sales.
"We really haven't seen any impact, none that I could even talk
about," said Laura Stillman, a local sales manager for WRAL in
"Nothing at all," said Joanne Canelli, a
local sales manager for KTHV of Little Rock, Ark. "I haven't seen any
[impact] at all."
Even if consumers complained, Holmes of UPS stressed that advertising decisions
are made with many factors in mind. He said the
company wouldn't make any rash decisions about advertising placements.
"When you're making decisions where you will and will not run your
advertising, it's a case-by-case basis," Holmes said. "You
know when it's somewhere you don't want to be. It's
not just based on whether we like a show or don't like a show.
It's based on hard-core research."