Radio Campaign Knocks Anti-Boy Products Out of 3,000
Retail Stores
January 30, 2004
MND Newswire
Claire's, a jewelry and accessories retailer with stores in nearly
a dozen countries, disclosed yesterday that it has decided to drop all
products bearing anti-boy slogans such as "Boys are Stupid"
from its product line.
The action is the result of a radio campaign begun six weeks ago by
Los Angeles-based radio talk show host Glenn
Sacks. To date, action by show listeners and supporters has knocked
the products out of nearly 3,000 retail outlets--an estimated three-quarters
of all retail outlets which sell the merchandise.
Sacks, whose radio show and
newspaper columns focus on men's and fathers' issues, declared a campaign
against Claire's during his Sunday, January 18 broadcast. Claire's sells
hats, wallets, wristbands, socks and other products which say "Boys
are Stupid--Throw Rocks at Them" and "Stupid Factory--Where
Boys Are Made." In the days following the broadcast Claire's was
bombarded with several hundred e-mails and phone calls from angry show
listeners.
Yesterday Marisa Jacobs, Claire's Vice President of Corporate Communications
and Investor Relations, informed the controversial host that Claire’s
is canceling all pending orders of products which carry slogans such
as ”Boys are Stupid” and “Boys are Smelly”, and will no longer
purchase or sell products which carry those slogans. Katie Michaels,
Claire's Director of Consumer Affairs, pledged that in the future the
company would "act with a heightened sensitivity" on the issue.
The products are made by David
& Goliath, and until recently were sold at 3,500 retail outlets
worldwide.
Sacks commended Claire's for its decision, noting "some in our
society have developed a moral blind spot over hostility towards males.
These aren't bad people, and usually all that's needed is to point out
the blind spot. Claire's did the right thing, just as I expected them
to."
Claire's is the fourth company to be targeted. Universal Studios, Tilly's,
which has 32 locations in Southern California, and Bon Macy's, a large
Northwestern department store, all agreed to remove the T-shirts
when targeted by Sacks in previous broadcasts.
Sacks told his listeners that he decided to launch the campaign after
his son, who is in the 6th grade, saw the shirts, and sadly said
"dad, why are they always saying stuff like that about boys?"
He noted:
"David and Goliath [the company that makes the 'Boys are Stupid'
products] says the shirts are a harmless joke. Well, whatever humor
there is here--and I’m sorry to sound like a humorless zealot but I
just don’t see--this is adult humor being played out on boys. These
shirts target boys, not men--boys."
Several of Sacks' fellow Los Angeles-based talk show hosts commended
the campaign. KABC's Al Rantel told his listeners that the shirts are
"part of a much larger problem in our society--the problem of devaluing
males." Marc Germain (aka Mr. KABC), who has a young son, told
listeners "[The shirts] are really offensive and I'm glad Glenn
stood up and did something about it."
Fox News columnist Wendy McElroy also praised the protest campaign,
calling it "[a good example] of how hate mongering is a lucrative
business and the best remedy is to yank away the financial incentive."
Sacks also linked his campaign to a "boy crisis in education,"
noting:
"Today boys have fallen seriously behind girls at all K-12 levels.
Girls get better grades than boys and boys are far more likely than
girls to drop out of school or to be disciplined, suspended, held back,
or expelled. Boys are four times as likely to receive a diagnosis of
attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder as girls, and the vast majority
of learning-disabled students are boys. Listeners have told me that
"Boys Are
Stupid" are being worn on school campuses. That's rubbing salt
in the wound."
Sacks says he has already chosen his next target in the campaign and
will announce it on his next broadcast. Sacks show is heard at 9 pm
Sunday evenings on KMPC 1540 AM in Los Angeles and on KKOL 1300 AM in
Seattle.