Thought I would share this quick bit of news: The ad agency representing 173 dealers in 5 Southeast states has told the local ABC affiliates to pull their commercials. The agency told ABC affiliates last week that the shift was due to "excessive stories on the Toyota issues." Instead, the dealers have shifted their commercial time buys to non-ABC stations in the same markets, "as punishment for the reporting," according to an ABC station manager.
Southeast Toyota (SET) comprises 173 dealers in Florida, Georgia, North Carollina, South Carolina, and Alabama.
Personally, I like the move. The media firestorm has contributed to a lot of misinformation being spread around out into the ethos, as my friend Russell Frost pointed out in his guest editorial. If the affiliates were behind the uprising against The Jay Leno Show and created so many problems for NBC, perhaps the local ABC affiliates can tell their papa company that it's time to lay off a little bit.
