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Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 21, 2006

Best Buy Censors Shareholder Speech

Company Refuses to Allow Shareholders to Voice Complaints Regarding Advertising Practices

 

Richfield, Minn. (June 21, 2006) – Today, at the annual Best Buy shareholders meeting, the company, in a cowardly move, denied the Parents Television Council™ and other shareholders the opportunity to speak or ask uncensored questions regarding the corporation's advertising policies.  Nor did the company answer the question submitted in writing by Glen Erickson, manager of advertiser programs at the PTC, regarding its advertising policies.  The following excerpts are taken from a statement that was intended to be read by Mr. Erickson to executives attending the Best Buy shareholders meeting.

 

"I am here today representing the Parents Television Council, a non-profit nonpartisan group committed to protecting children from sex, violence and profanity in entertainment.  The reason I'm here today is because Best Buy consistently advertises on programming that contains graphic violence, excessive sexual content and foul language, and we think this needs to stop - - now. 

 

"It is evident to me, and to the PTC's more than one million members, that Best Buy does not have advertising guidelines in place to keep its name off of shows that consistently scrape the bottom of the barrel for program content.

 

"Best Buy ads have appeared on programs like C.S.I., Criminal Minds, Killer Instinct, and Bones that contain brutal violence and bizarre sexual fetishes.  Best Buy ads have also appeared on programs that glorify deviant sexual behaviors, including one episode of Boston Legal about a man who repeatedly had sex with his pet cow.  Best Buy ads also helped pay for the content on Comedy Central's Dennis Leary special, "Merry F-ing Christmas" which included a sequence advertising a turn-on video called "Nuns with Colds Gone Wild" which depicts nuns, naked except for their headwear, rubbing and kissing each other.    


"To save myself and my fellow shareholders further embarrassment, I won't read aloud the most offensive content sponsored by Best Buy, but I am enclosing it with a letter we will be sending to you, Mr. Anderson.

 

"The PTC's message to Best Buy is clear - - your advertising dollars reflect your corporate values.  I doubt the Board of Directors or shareholders would be proud of the content paid for by advertisements on shows like those I've mentioned today.

 

"I am here today to plead with you, on behalf of millions of Americans, to stop underwriting sleaze and adopt responsible advertising guidelines that will keep Best Buy off of programming that contains foul language, gratuitous sex, and graphic violence. 

 

"Will Best Buy continue to pay for the ‘cultural sewage' that is broadcast into our homes on a nightly basis?  The PTC would like your response to this question by the seventh of July so that we may let our more than one million members know whether or not Best Buy will continue to sponsor some of the most offensive and violent programming on television.  I hope that I will be able to tell them that Best Buy is adopting advertising guidelines that reflect its corporate values."

 

To schedule an interview with a PTC representative, please contact Kelly Oliver at (703) 683-5004, ext. 140.

The Parents Television Council™ (www.parentstv.org®) is a non-partisan education organization advocating responsible entertainment. It was founded in 1995 to ensure that children are not constantly assaulted by sex, violence and profanity on television and in other media. This national grassroots organization has over one million members across the United States, and works with television producers, broadcasters, networks and sponsors in an effort to stem the flow of harmful and negative messages targeted to children. The PTC also works with elected and appointed government officials to enforce broadcast decency standards. Most importantly, the PTC produces critical research and publications documenting the dramatic increase in sex, violence and profanity in entertainment. This information is provided free of charge so parents can make informed viewing choices for their own families.

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