Christian Group Calls for Boycott of Unilever
The American Family Assn., an influential Christian lobbying group, has urged a boycott of products made by Unilever, a leading sponsor of “NYPD Blue” and other TV shows that the group considers excessively violent, profane or sexual.
The group announced the boycott in a full-page ad in Sunday’s New York Times after its attempts to meet with Unilever executives failed. The ad invited consumers to boycott Unilever products and included a clip-out panel listing many of them, including All, Wisk and Surf detergents, Ragu spaghetti sauce, Wish-Bone salad dressings and Breyers ice cream.
The move follows a spate of attacks on the content of film, television and music from conservative leaders.
Last month, former Education Secretary William Bennett and National Political Congress of Black Women Chair C. Dolores Tucker launched an attack on entertainment giant Time Warner for the sexual and violent content of some of its music recordings.
Two weeks ago, Sen. Bob Dole, a front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, joined the assault on Time Warner’s music division while broadly accusing Hollywood of “marketing evil.”
Based in Tupelo, Miss., the American Family Assn. pursues a conservative Christian agenda in schools, government and the media. In 1989, PepsiCo shelved a multimillion-dollar advertising contract with Madonna after the association accused the pop star of appearing in a blasphemous video.
Rev. Donald Wildmon, the association’s founder and executive director, said Unilever had been singled out because it was “one of the leading sponsors of sex, violence and profanity” on television. Procter & Gamble, he said, was “a much more responsible advertiser” by comparison.
“Unilever [products] are the leading sponsors of ‘NYPD Blue.’ They are a leading sponsor of pro-homosexual programs. They are a leading sponsor of daytime talk trash shows,” Wildmon said.
He denied the association was trying to censor U.S. television.
Representatives of Unilever and ABC, the network which airs “NYPD Blue,” could not be reached for comment on Monday. A spokeswoman for the show’s producer Steven Bochco also was not available.
Unilever, an Anglo-Dutch conglomerate with U.S. headquarters in New York, spends more than $470 million annually to advertise its products on TV.
