Consumers’ Research, a conservative consumer advocacy group, released three ads that attack corporations like Nike, Coca-Cola, and American Airlines, for going woke.
According to a press release, the group is spending more than $1 million on dropping the ads.
“American Airlines shrunk legroom for passengers and laid off thousands of employees during the COVID pandemic while receiving billions in taxpayer bailouts. Coca-Cola and Nike have both been exploiting foreign, potentially forced, labor in China while American workers suffer,” Executive Director of Consumers’ Research Will Hild said in a statement. “It is time these corporate giants were called to task. We are giving consumers a voice. These companies should be putting their energy and focus on serving their customers not woke politicians.”
American Airlines
When Texas passed its voter integrity law, American Airlines released a statement echoing Democrats’ talking points, saying the laws would prevent Americans from voting:
Earlier this morning, the Texas State Senate passed legislation with provisions that limit voting access. To make American’s stance clear: We are strongly opposed to this bill and others like it. As a Texas-based business, we must stand up for the rights of our team members and customers who call Texas home, and honor the sacrifices made by generations of Americans to protect and expand the right to vote.
Voting is the hallmark of our democracy, and is the foundation of our great country. We value the democratic process and believe every eligible American should be allowed to exercise their right to vote, no matter which political party or candidate they support.
We acknowledge how difficult this is for many who have fought to secure and exercise their constitutional right to vote. Any legislation dealing with how elections are conducted must ensure ballot integrity and security while making it easier to vote, not harder. At American, we believe we should break down barriers to diversity, equity and inclusion in our society – not create them.
According to a report from The Daily Wire, Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick stated American Airlines CEO Doug Parker hadn’t even read the bill.
“As Lt. Governor of Texas, I am stunned that American Airlines would put out a statement saying ‘we are strongly opposed to this bill’ [Senate Bill 7] just minutes after their government relations representative called my office and admitted that neither he nor the American Airlines CEO had actually read the legislation,” Patrick said in his own statement. “We heard these same outcries claiming voter suppression in 2011 when Texas passed the photo voter ID bill. In fact, just the opposite occurred. Voter turnout in Texas soared from 7,993,851 in 2012 to 11,144,040 in 2020, a 39 percent increase. Gubernatorial election voter turnout has increased by 76 percent since photo voter ID was passed.”
The Consumers’ Research ad slammed Parker’s take on Texas’ voter integrity law, which requires an ID to fly.
“Why is CEO Doug Parker trying to appease the radical left?” the ad asked.
According to the ad, Parker is trying to “distract” from the company’s various issues, like his “$10 million salary” despite receiving “$5.8 billion in taxpayer bailouts” and making more than 19,000 job cuts.
“Doug Parker, American Airlines, serve your customers, not woke politicians,” the ad concluded.
Coca-Cola
After Georgia passed its voter integrity law, the Coca-Cola Company came under fire for donating to Republican politicians who challenged the results of the 2020 presidential election.
A progressive coalition called on the Coca-Cola Company to demonstrate its commitment to progressive values by opposing the voter integrity law, The Daily Wire previously reported. This was shortly after the company implemented “anti-racist” training materials and announced that it was only hiring law firms that will commit to 15% of their billed time coming from black attorneys.
The Consumers’ Research ad calls on the company to do away with woke politics.
“Coca-Cola is getting political, attacking Georgia’s popular voting law,” the ad stated.
According to the ad, Coca-Cola is laser-focused on Georgia’s voting law because the company wants to “distract” from “dismal sales” over the last few years, allegations of using “forced labor,” and knowingly targeting children despite an obesity epidemic.
Nike
Nike joined a number of large corporations, including Coca-Cola, to lobby against a bill that would have prevented “American companies from importing products made in Chinese labor camps, including camps home to as many as one million Uyghurs, a persecuted ethnically Muslim minority,” per a report from The Daily Wire.
The Consumers’ Research ad slammed Nike’s decision to hire forced labor over American labor.
“Nike is constantly political,” the ad stated, claiming the company is going woke to provide “cover” for allegedly using Uighur forced labor in China to produce their products.
“Religious minorities were ripped from their families, sterilized, sold to factories,” the voice-over said.
According to the ad, Congress attempted to prevent Nike from using forced labor in China but the company “fought back with highly paid lobbyists.”
“Rather than hiring Americans, Nike chose China,” the ad stated.
“Nike, serve your customer, not woke politicians,” the company concluded.
An April poll from The Hill/HarrisX found that 61% of registered voters believe it’s “not appropriate for corporations to engage in political speech.” Only 39% said it’s appropriate for corporations to be involved in political speech.