Hoover responds to Savage controversy

It's refreshing to see that some companies still "get it." (The picture at right could not be more apropos.) Today, I found out about one of them - the parent company that owns the Hoover brand of vacuum cleaners and products. I hadn't even gotten around to writing the company yet, and I heard from a public relations practitioner who works for the company about my Michael Savage post from late last week. Since I didn't write them, it's obvious that the company is concerned with its image, and she found me.

Here is her letter, left as a comment under my original posting about Michael Savage's comments regarding autism:

In response to this posting that lists Hoover as an advertiser associated with The Michael Savage Show and Talk Radio Network, I would like to clarify that Hoover and its parent company, TTI Floor Care North America, are not and have never been sponsors of or advertisers on The Michael Savage Show.

While under the ownership of the Whirlpool Corporation, Hoover-branded ads aired during The Laura Ingraham Show on Talk Radio Network; however, ads have not aired on that program since December 2006 when Techtronic Industries Co. Ltd agreed to purchase the Hoover brand from Whirlpool.

We value feedback from our customers and hope you will contact us directly should you have any questions about this important matter.

Nicole Sinclair
TTI Floor Care North America
Public Relations and Promotions Manager

Just to verify that the letter was legit, I tracked down Sinclair at TTI Floor Care, the parent company that owns the Hoover brand, and left her a voice mail, telling her I appreciated her response.

Now this is exactly the type of response I hope for when I write a letter to a company concerning its advertising policies. And, to repeat, I didn't even get around to writing Hoover, I had just listed the company in my original posting, because it was listed on Talk Radio Network's Website as a "satisfied customer." (Note: TRN has taken down its "partial list of satisfied customers" that used to be in its advertising section. I love it - guess they won't be making that mistake again.) I could still take umbrage about how a company shouldn't even advertise or support a company that employs Savage, but Hoover doesn't advertise on Savage's show, and that's certainly good enough for me.

Bravo to Hoover, and the same goes for Ms. Sinclair for taking the time to write. This is obviously a company that is giving thought as to where it advertises, and what message it's sending its customers by doing so. This company deserves our business.

It's good to see that companies are starting to take notice about the consequences of advertising on Savage's show. In addition to Hoover, Aflac gets it as well.

Considering how some companies are responding to customer complaints about Savage, it's time to start up a Reverse Boycott List of companies that deserve our business for responding in a positive way to complaints about their advertising policies. (Okay, I need to work on a better name for the list.) Aflac and Hoover are the first two to make the list. More to follow soon.