Every company wants their advertisements to reach a wide audience, but just because a show has high ratings doesn’t mean they want to be associated with it.
BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai are among a growing list of organizations pulling their ads from FOX News’ “The O’Reilly Factor” following reports of harassment allegations against Bill O’Reilly, according to Ad Age.
The New York Times published a report Saturday claiming five women had been paid a total of $13 million by O’Reilly and/or 21st Century Fox not to pursue legal action against the show’s host. Their allegations against O’Reilly reportedly range from verbal abuse, to unwanted advances.
“We had advertising running on ‘The O’Reilly Factor’ (we run on most major cable news shows) and it has been reassigned in the midst of this controversy,” Donna Boland, a spokeswoman for Mercedes-Benz USA, said in a statement Monday, via Ad Age. “The allegations are disturbing and, given the importance of women in every aspect of our business, we don’t feel this is a good environment in which to advertise our products right now.”
Hyundai echoed Mercedes’ comments in a statement to Ad Age.
“Hyundai currently has no advertising running on ‘The O’Reilly Factor.’ We had upcoming advertising spots on the show but are reallocating them due to the recent and disturbing allegations,” the Korean automaker said. “As a company we seek to partner with companies and programming that share our values of inclusion and diversity. We will continue to monitor and evaluate the situation as we plan future advertising decisions.”
“The O’Reilly Factor” is one of FOX News’ most successful shows, and in the first quarter of 2017, set a record for the highest viewership in a single quarter by any cable news program, according to Variety.
Thumbnail photo via Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports Images
