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February 24, 2005
Booze lobby targets GM
American Beverage Licensees, the trade association for purveyors of wine, beer and spirits, has launched and advertising campaign targeting General Motors for its support of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
The campaign, supported by a website (www.MADDatGM.com), includes a series of print ads saying "MADD wants social drinkers arrested. GM gives big bucks to MADD" and "GM supports the arrest of social drinkers." The website goes further by featuring reports on GM's safety record and accusing MADD and GM of collaborating to limit the auto-maker's exposure on its vehicles' safety issues.
Clearly the industry is really worried MADD's message is getting out and hurting its bottom line. But why attack an auto-maker that gave the organization $3-million between 1995 and 2002. Why not attack car rental company Alamo ($2.3-million from 1998-2001) or the NFL ($135,000 from 1995-2001)?
A close read of the MADD at GM website shows ABL has pathological hatred of MADD, but worse, seems to be encouraging people to take the risk of driving after drinking socially.
Social drinking means different things to different people. For some it is a glass of wine with dinner, for others it is a lot more. So yes, MADD does want to arrest social drinkers who drive after having consumed enough alcohol to impair their ability to operate a car safely. That is what we should all want.
Posted by maxthecat on February 24, 2005 at 09:43 AM | Comments (2)
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Title: MADDatMADDatGM
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Title: MADDatMADDatGM
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Comments
Posted by: sad dad on March 3, 2005 at 09:19 PM
You're right. It looks like the alcohol retailers have miscalculated. I think they thought they would have the support of the general public, but times have changed.
Posted by: maxthecat ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.maxsmewsings.com/nav-commenters.gif)
on March 3, 2005 at 10:22 PM
The retail beverage industry is only interested in $$$. They don't want to be socially responsible. I know this first hand. A 23 year old firefighter killed my 17 year old son, April 20, 2001. He had a BAC of .215, twenty minutes after leaving a retail establishment. I happened at 10:13 on a Friday night. Instead of training there members to be responsible servers and not serve the visibly intoxicated, they put up a smoke screen and avoid the real issue. Other comments I've read from other forums have all been positive for GM. It seems everyone else except retailers favors being responsible.