Me, Uncle Ben's, And Fox News North: Will Uncle Ben's Pull Its Advertising?

As a few people have noted elsewhere, Sun TV has been running gay-bashing/transphobic ads from McVety's gang at the Institute for Canadian Values, and this has spawned a campaign on to boycott Fox News North advertisers.  Having watched the ads a couple of times (sorry, though, no link--SDMatt, the source of most Sun TV youtube clips, has apparently had his account hacked), I noticed that the ad always seemed to appear in combination with an ad for Alarm Force and an ad for Uncle Ben's rice.  Glancing through our cupboard--Lo and Behold!--I found tons of Uncle Ben's.  So, a couple of weeks ago, I contacted their marketing department.  This is my latest missive to them, from last week:

I emailed you about this topic several weeks ago, but have not kept the file number you assigned me.

Specifically, one of the stations you advertise on in Canada (Sun TV) has been pairing your commercials with a gay-bashing ad from the Institute of Canadian Values (see below).

When I first emailed, I was told that it was difficult to predict where and when Uncle Ben's ads would turn up on Sun TV, but if you compare the video below to the earlier link I sent it is fairly clear they are running the gay bashing ad, plus a commercial from Alarm Force, plus your commercial, as a package.

Now, it isn't as though I would ever stop eating Uncle Ben's products over something like this. My wife and I had a package of your brown rice with braised ribs and asparagus tonight, and it was quite wonderful. I would only suggest that Sun TV is not an appropriate venue for your rice products. In addition to inapprorpriately postioning your brand, they have interviewed any number of convicted racists and Neo-Nazis, and have attracted a number of product petitions as a result (see link below). I hope you will reconsider advertising with these people.

Yesterday, I recieved a rather promising reply:

Dear Mr. Murphy,

Thank you for your follow-up email regarding our UNCLE BEN's® advertising.

We had forwarded your comments to our marketing team for review. Advertising is usually purchased in advance so our marketing team may not be able to remove ads from Sun TV at the present time. That being said, we will be evaluating our advertising strategies for the coming year, and your comments will assist in determining future activities with our brand.

We appreciate your concern and will certainly share your additional comments with our marketing team.

Regards,

Your Friends at MARS Canada Inc.

So, if anyone reading this is involved in the SunSet campaign, it might be worthwhile dropping a line to the good uncle.  After all, if you like the product (as I certainly do), why not politely informed its maker that they are putting their brand in some peril.