Racism in Advertising?

I c

an't think of anyone I'd rather share a foxhole with than Tom Joyner and Tavis Smiley. The host of the widely syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show and his commentator sidekick are very tough guys. Yet the victory they scored last week by persuading CompUSA Inc., the largest U.S. computer retailer, to dramatically expand its advertising in black-owned media really belongs to the show's 7 million, mostly African-American, listeners. They showed how powerful consumers can be in the fight for racial respect.

Joyner and Smiley's crusade started more than a year ago when Smiley delivered a blistering commentary about a memo from the Katz Radio Group, a New York City-based ad-sales firm, advising clients to forgo buying spots on minority-oriented radio stations because "advertisers should want prospects, not suspects." Within days, Joyner's fans had heaped so much protest on Katz that its president came on the show and promised to double its billings for black radio stations. Next, Joyner and Smiley compiled a list of companies that get millions of dollars from black customers and started pressuring them to buy more ads in black media. (The beneficiaries would include black-owned outlets that broadcast Joyner's show.)

The first target was CompUSA, which didn't focus on black customers, even though blacks spend about $750 million a year on computer products. In August the two began urging listeners to send in sales receipts to prove that blacks shopped at CompUSA. They sent five big boxes to CompUSA but got no reply. Then Joyner read on the air an insulting letter that had been faxed to the show on CompUSA stationery. It turned out to be a hoax, and he had to apologize. It looked like the campaign might fizzle.

But two weeks ago, Joyner and Smiley decided to up the ante. Smiley vowed that unless CompUSA responded to their demands within 48 hours, "we will shift into third gear"--an implied threat to launch a boycott. That got CompUSA's attention. The company complained to the ABC Radio Network, which syndicates Joyner's show, about the false letter Joyner had read. It's not clear what happened next. Though CompUSA's president and CEO, James Halpin, says he never told ABC he was planning legal action against Joyner, ABC got weak in the knees. According to Joyner and Smiley, the network's president, Lyn Andrews, warned them that if they did not stop talking about CompUSA, then ABC might "pull the plug on the show." An ABC spokesperson said the network only wanted Joyner to hold off for one day.

To Smiley, "this was high noon. If we backed down, the next time we challenged anybody, the word would be out that if you call ABC, [it] will make us shut up." The next day, with Joyner's blessing, Smiley blasted ABC for threatening to cancel the show. ABC's and CompUSA's switchboards were overwhelmed with angry phone calls from Joyner's fans. Last week Halpin appeared on Joyner's show and promised to hire a black-owned ad agency and to give a 10% discount to those who had sent in CompUSA receipts. Everyone's happy now. But why do black consumers have to go to such extreme lengths to get companies to take them seriously? As Joyner declared last week, "This ain't over yet."