American Family Association: Skip Target This Season But Keep Christ in Christmas
American Family Association: Skip Target This Season But Keep Christ in Christmas
In Addition to Urging Shoppers to #BoycottTarget, AFA Also Releases 10th Annual ‘Naughty or Nice’ List
TUPELO, Miss.—Just a week remains before Christmas, and the American Family Association (AFA, www.afa.net) continues to urge last-minute shoppers to steer clear of Target because of its dangerous and misguided restroom policy, and is also encouraging patrons to head to stores that have made this year’s “Nice” list.
First and foremost, the 40-year-old family-focused organization hopes shoppers will stay true to AFA’s 1.5 million-strong #BoycottTarget effort and avoid the retailer that allows men in women’s restrooms and fitting rooms, thereby putting women and children at risk.
“In this last week before Christmas, we hope shoppers won’t give into the urge to pick up a last-minute item at Target or be swayed by a sale,” said AFA President Tim Wildmon. “The risk is just not worth it. Incident after incident has shown that predators will take advantage of an open-door situation, perhaps especially at the holidays when stores are busier and shoppers are more distracted.”
For those who want to urge Target to protect the safety of women and children this Christmas, AFA is suggesting three ways to take action:
- Sign the #BoycottTarget pledge. Encourage family and friends to sign the pledge, too, as boycott numbers climb to 1.5 million.
- Voice your concerns on Target’s Facebook page.
- Call Target to politely let its executives know you’ve signed the #BoycottTarget pledge—Guest Relations, (800) 440-0680, option 1, then 1 again.
Additionally, AFA has offered the 10th annual “Naughty or Nice” list of retailers to help shoppers know which are Christmas-friendly—and which are acting like Scrooge.
For the list, AFA has taken the top national retailers and reviewed their websites, media advertising and in-store signage in an effort to help shoppers know which companies embrace Christmas and which water it down into a generic holiday.
“For the past decade, AFA’s message to retailers has been to ‘Keep Christ in Christmas!” Wildmon added. “This 10th year for the ‘Naughty or Nice’ list is significant because we can witness the progress of many businesses over the years. A decade ago, some stores routinely used the word ‘holiday’ to remain ‘politically correct.’ But we know now that most Americans want to celebrate Christmas and expect to hear greetings of ‘Merry Christmas!’ in their favorite stores. It’s been gratifying to see the list become a success and know that some stores have taken this message to heart.”
AFA reviewed up to nine areas to determine if a company is “Christmas-friendly.” Print media (newspaper inserts), broadcast media (radio/television), website and/or personal visits to the store helped determine a retailer’s rating. If a company’s ad contains references to items associated with Christmas (trees, wreaths, lights, etc.), it was considered an attempt to reach Christmas shoppers.
For the 2017 list, more than 50 “Nice” retailers use the term “Christmas” on a regular basis and are considered “Christmas-friendly.” The “Nice” list includes retailers from Ace Hardware to Zappos.com—and everything in between. Eight retailers this year made the “Marginal” list, meaning these companies refer to Christmas infrequently or only in select advertising mediums: Amazon.com, CVS, Kohl’s, Old Navy, Safeway, Sears, Starbucks and Walgreens.
The 18 retailers on the “Naughty” list may use “Christmas” sparingly in a single or unique product description, but as companies, do not recognize it. These include: Academy Sports + Outdoors, Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, Dollar General, Family Dollar, Foot Locker, Gap, Inc., The Limited, Maurice’s, Nordstrom, Office Depot, Office Max, PetSmart, Staples, Stein Mart, Supervalu, UncommonGoods.com and Victoria’s Secret.
See the full “Naughty or Nice” list here.
View the media page for AFA here. For more information on American Family Association, visit www.afa.net or follow AFA on Facebook or on Twitter @AmericanFamAssc.
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To interview an American Family Association representative, contact Deborah Hamilton, Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, 610.584.1096, ext. 102.
