While the age-old gay boycott against Coors Brewing Co. lives on for some, others aren't sure if the brand should still be avoided. A new print campaign from Coors attempts once again to turn the conversation to its gay-positive policies.
Titled "Real History," the ad features a triangle with a list of the company's gay rights accomplishments including: adopting an inclusive non-discrimination policy in 1978, adding same-sex partner health benefits in 1995 and other milestones. Another ad to appear in January will feature six openly gay employees.
The effort will be informally tracked by word-of-mouth, with hopes to grow the brand's estimated tiny 2%-3% share in the gay market's competitive beer category.
The brewer has been working hard to turn things around for years. Coors' first gay market effort began in 1997, with an ad that similarly touted its gay employee benefits called "Perception isn't always reality" and it soon sponsored gay events too. In 2000 a slightly controversial ad referenced Grant Wood's 1930 iconic painting "American Gothic" but featured two contemporary gay men, and in 2001 another starred openly gay Olympic swimmer Bruce Hayes.
Mary Cheney, the daughter of vice president Dick Cheney, previously served as the gay community liaison from 1994-2000, and now Rafael Fantauzzi fills the role. Fantauzzi arrived in January after 10 years of managing Hispanic community relations for American Airlines. He is part of a staff of 11 dedicated to serving Hispanic, African-American, Asian, women, Native American and Jewish concerns. Fantauzzi and Scott Coors, the openly gay son of Coors' vice-chairman, have begun to try to reframe the issues.
The roots of Coors' robust community relations department grew out of a broader Coors boycott that goes back to the early 1970s, when unions first organized their own boycott and charged the brewer with racism, sexism and homophobia—including lie-detector tests asking if employees were homosexual. Following the 1960 murder of Adolph Coors III, polygraph tests were conducted by a security firm in the 1970s and '80 but Coors spokesman Kevin Caulfield says sexuality questions were never asked.
While the union boycott ended in 1987 and coalitions have been formed with Hispanic and African-American groups, the company remains dogged by gay activists. Recent ads run in local gay newspapers from the LGBT committee of the National Lawyers Guild ( www.nlg.org/committees/lgbt/coors_action_alert.htm ) still urge a boycott, citing Coors family leadership at conservative groups including the Heritage, Free Congress and Castle Rock foundations.
Coors says there is no relationship between the brewery and the foundations. "There are continued attempts to mix our record with other things that have nothing to do with the company. We as a company will only address those issues relevant to us a company, and not the foundations," Fantauzzi says. "We've been held to a different standard."
Remarkably, though Coors wants to win over the gay community, it still stumbles in directly discussing the family's prominent role in conservative organizations, claiming no relationship to or little knowledge of family members' politics—the longtime sticking points.
The Heritage Foundation ( at www.heritage.org ) lists Joseph Coors as its founder and Holland Coors as trustees, but neither has positions with the brewer. The Free Congress Foundation ( at www.freecongress.org ) is chaired by Jeffrey Coors, who is president of a separate business, Graphic Packaging International, which supplies packaging to the brewer.
The Castle Rock Foundation ( castlerockfoundation.org/Board.asp ) is guided by trustees Peter Coors, the brewer's current chairman, and William K., the vice chairman, along with non-company family members Jeffrey and Holland. Sally Rippey, Castle Rock's executive director, says the group is "trying to be neutral" in what it funds, avoiding hot-button issues like abortion, assisted suicide and gay rights, but still makes contributions of $200,000 to the Heritage Foundation and smaller grants to other conservative organizations.
Conservative vs. Anti-Gay Organizations
Yet while the groups are right of center, some ask if it's enough reason to punish Coors, especially when so many companies have political ties. "We need to separate conservative groups from those who actively conquer gay rights, like the Traditional Values Coalition," notes Bob Witeck, of Witeck-Combs Communications, which has guided Coors' gay relations. "And we need an even playing field—if we're going to challenge Coors, then we need to ask the rest of corporate America what conservative groups they support, because many of them do it."
By accepting major contributions from Coors, the Human Rights Campaign and Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation have generated controversy, but also signaled growing acceptance. In its just-released Corporate Equality Index on company gay friendliness, HRC gave Coors an impressive 86 rating out of 100, compared to 57 for Miller Brewing Co. and 43 for Anheuser-Busch.
Ultimately, gay consumers must decide if Coors' LGBT-friendly policies—which surpass many corporations—outbalances its numerous family members' involvement with conservative organizations not directly funded by Coors sales ( the foundations even got rid of their Coors stocks in 1997 ) .
Coors and others have learned the hard way that even when working hard to win the gay market, memories are lasting, politics remain important and consistency counts.
Mike Wilke's Commercial Closet is a biweekly column covering gay issues in advertising, marketing and media. See www.CommercialCloset.org .
