I already outlined the seemingly unrepentant stance of the anti-gun Interstate Outdoor today. However, I didn’t focus on Clear Channel Outdoor for good reason. They were far more responsive to my concerns as a public relations professional who has worked with the outdoor industry than their competitors. We talked for well over half an hour today, and I definitely got an unexpected response.

First, they claimed the ignorance excuse in not realizing this was a controversial ad campaign in violation of their policies on donating non-profit adspace. I do honestly believe that they are so insulated that they did not recognize it. One, this was very unexpected. They were shocked that residents around the state found out and were upset. I pointed out that if there was no controversy, Moms Against Guns wouldn’t have to lobby for the cause. Two, the woman I spoke with even talked about the problems in Philadelphia, not as an excuse, but a valid point that they are so low right now compared with the city they used to be that really, they are just trying to look for any solution. Yes, she realized that these ideas for more gun control may not be the best solution given the stories we swapped on criminals the DA’s office didn’t want to prosecute.

So, ignorance is no excuse, right? I would agree with that to a point. We all have biases. What concerns me is how this got so far – 30+ freakin’ billboards (which Clear Channel did acknowledge were mostly donated by them since Interstate is a smaller company) – without someone raising an alarm. That, they agreed, needed to be investigated internally. That’s refreshing honesty.

However, as I pointed out, by sticking their neck out for gun control – the name of the group isn’t against violence or against criminals, it’s against guns – an internal investigation wouldn’t cut it in terms of making me a prospective client, and that I would make sure to let others I know who sometimes do outdoor advertising to avoid their company.

Then came the lobbying discussion. Everyone pretty much assumed the group was a (c)3, and questions were raised about how a new group could actually have so much cash coming in from donors that the donation of more than 30 billboards in one of the nation’s largest markets could be less than 10-15% of their annual budget. Even Clear Channel was concerned about this fact.

Actually Clear Channel was concerned by the fact that the Moms were lobbying. See, they hadn’t been to the website. They didn’t know the group was petitioning the legislature. They didn’t seem to know about the statements to the Philadelphia Inquirer about trying to impact the election. That was all news to them. They honestly believed it was about raising awareness on criminal gun use and education on a few issues they thought might help (harsh straw purchase punishment, lost and stolen requirements, etc.). Clear Channel did not know they were calling for citizens to sign a petition to go to Harrisburg. Needless to say, this isn’t in the spirit of their public service program.

So the next step was for Clear Channel’s rep to call the lead Mom who, it turns out, is self funding the group. Only that conversation lead her to discover that the group isn’t registered as a charity at all. It’s registered as an LLC, and they have no intent of going for non-profit status.

This was a bit of a shock to them. Clear Channel was lead to believe they were doing a PSA for a charitable organization. Yet, instead, their donations have been used for political advocacy for essentially a business.  There will no doubt be more to come of this, and I know I am on their call list when they get it resolved.

But, for kicks, here’s another layer to this huge legal misunderstanding, I do actually know of a group that has a huge ad campaign with Clear Channel right now, though in another market. I think I’ll save most of that news for tomorrow in case there are developments to that story. However, I do want to quote one section of the email they sent to their Clear Channel reps:

If your Philadelphia affiliate was thinking this group was an “innocent” non-profit association with no political agenda and no opposition, they made a very big mistake — knowingly or not, they have directly engaged Clear Channel into the gun-control debate.

No obviously related posts.