I am seeking the assistance of others who love Virginia to make our voices
heard at the Quaker Company.  A new Quaker Oatmeal commercial features an
attractive, older African-American couple who love to bowl and stay healthy
by eating Quaker Oatmeal.  It's a cute ad, but it inexcusably begins with an
insult to the Commonwealth and people of Virginia.  As they talk about how
they met, he jokes that she was just "looking for a ticket out of Virginia."
Unbelievable.  

 

I first saw the ad on 10/8 and could not believe what I thought I heard.  I
saw it again on 10/9, airing during a national morning news program.  That
day I sent an e-mail to the company via their on-line complaint form and
left two (as yet unreturned) messages for their publicity person.  On
Thursday I received an e-mail from their complaint office, stating in part,
"We are sorry you were offended by our advertisement. The reactions and
viewpoints of our consumers are very important to us.  Please be assured
that your comments will be shared with corporate management for
consideration as future advertisements are planned."  

 

That's it, I thought.  They recognize that the line in the ad is offensive.
They'll take care of it.  Not so fast.  This morning, a full week after my
complaints, I saw the ad again on one of the national morning news shows.
Obviously the voice of one offended Virginian is not enough.  

 

Here's how you can help.  Many more voices of people who love Virginia need
to be heard in Chicago.  Below I have listed various e-mails and phone
numbers, along the main mailing address, for Quaker.  Please use one or all
of them to contact Quaker immediately to request that the ad with the
"ticket out of Virginia" line be immediately pulled from the airwaves and
that line edited out.   Write/call using your own words.  Do not forward
this e-mail.  Brief e-mails are fine, so long as you include your name and
location them so that they know they are hearing from many different people,
both in and out of Virginia.

Quaker, a unit of PepsiCo Beverages & Foods
P.O. Box 049003
Chicago, IL 60604-9003
(312) 821-1000

The contact person listed as the publicist for Quaker on their most recent
press releases is: Jamie Stein, 312-821-2017, [log in to unmask]
(Note that there's an underline, not a space between her first and last
names in the address.)

Complaints may also be e-mailed to: [log in to unmask] 

Thank you for your help. 

 

Sincerely,

Rosanna Bencoach

Richmond