Ann Coulter’s anti-gay slur directed at Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards illustrates why advertisers and their agencies tend to remain skittish when it comes to advertising on political pundits’ websites. As CNN reported, Verizon, Sallie Mae and NetBank have said that they pulled their ads following complaints initiated by readers of the liberal blog DailyKos, which posted contact information for advertisers on Ann Coulter’s site. (We’re not talking big numbers. For example, Verizon spends $20 million of its $1.4 billion total ad budget on online advertising, according to TNS Media Intelligence.)
All three companies say it is not their policy to advertise on political websites of any kind. Rather, they have blamed it on the agencies hired to make the ad buys. While most media buys are discussed with clients, sometimes, especially when it comes to the kinds of smaller purchases on websites like Coulter’s, the buys can come in under the radar—only to be picked up when controversy arises. “Per our policy, the networked website ad purchases are supposed to be stripped of certain kinds of websites,” a Verizon spokesperson told CNN. “This one could be considered an extreme political website, should be off the list, and now it is off the list.”
A Sallie Mae spokesperson said the company is planning to pull ads from other political and religious websites as well. According to a spokesperson for Atlanta-based NetBank, Coulter’s site “is not the kind of site we want to be on.”
None of the three responded to requests regarding their media agencies or the particular instructions they have given regarding ads on political websites.