In my "local blogging" persona, I published the list I had obtained here of corporate sponsors who allegedly advertise on the Rush Limbaugh Show. That list included Domino's Pizza.
A nice-seeming gentleman named Phil who "works for Domino’s Pizza on the digital and blogger relations team" posted a comment in less than a day, which I reproduce here.
We appreciate your concern, but wanted to let you know that Domino’s does not advertise or sponsor this show, and we never have. We’re not sure why some lists have been passed around that claim we do, but I can assure you we are not a sponsor of this show. Thanks for your time.
Upon my request and promise to post the information here, he provided me with a link to a statement from Domino's VP for Communications.
It confirms that Domino's does not advertise on Rush Limbaugh's show.
Unlike Quicken, Domino's does not advertise on Limbaugh's show. But the pizza chain appeared on a list of the show's sponsors and was bombarded with e-mails and tweets from people wanting the company to pull its ads.
"We have never advertised on Rush Limbaugh's show," said Tim McIntyre, a Domino's spokesman. "We're not sure how this false rumor got started. We've been playing social media Whac[k]-a-Mole all day."
He said the company hasn't advertised on radio for at least six months, and its policy has always been to avoid "intentionally inflammatory" shows.
So, let the news go forth: Domino's Pizza does not advertise on Rush Limbaugh's show. There is no need to avoid Domino's Pizza on that account.
However ... Domino's is owned by Bain Capital, which under Mitt Romney leadership it purchased from former Opus Dei-affiliated owner Tom Monaghan in 1998 so that Monaghan could devote himself to "religious works." From the linked article, from January 26:
Bain says it helped Domino’s raise standards, and that it brought better marketing and new discipline to the company that helped store owners sell more pizza. There were updated uniforms, new computer systems, redesigned stores, and new product rollouts.
At the same time, the company took on some of the trappings of corporate America, with top executives enjoying personal use of the company’s private jet and directors earning fees of $180,000 a year.
Meanwhile, the quality of the pizza itself had become a big problem. In 2009, near the end of Bain’s involvement, the company had to overhaul its core product, after Domino’s pizza ranked last among its competitors in taste.
...
“We’re comfortable with debt,’’ said Michael Lawton, Domino’s chief financial officer, at the investment conference. He described the 2007 “monster dividend’’ in which investors, led by Bain, received a $897 million payout from the company. The management team is used to living within the constraints of financial leverage, he said. “We can handle this.’’
(The part in ellipsis says that the taste of the pizza has since improved. Cut for space, of course.)
Bain Capital, by the way, is one of the two owners of Clear Channel Communications.
And Clear Channel Communications, as careful Daily Kos readers know, owns, well, conservative talk radio, through its subsidiary Premiere Radio Networks.
Among the radio personalities syndicated by Clear Channel or aired on hundreds of stations it owns nationwide are Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Glenn Beck, Michael Savage, and many others.
...
“If you have been wondering why so many conservative talk show hosts are being so incredibly kind to Mitt Romney, this just might be the answer,” explained a popular blogger commenting on the Bain Capital-Clear Channel connection, saying it was improper for one of the Republican front-runners to have such an overwhelming financial stake in talk radio. “In the media world, there is a clear understanding that you simply do not bite the hand that feeds you…. If you were making tens of millions of dollars a year, wouldn't you be very careful to avoid offending your boss?”
My guess is that this is how the "Domino's advertises on Limbaugh's show" rumor got started. But if you're going to blame Domino's for its cousin Clear Channel in Bain's extended family, you also have to blame Bain property Burger King. And Toys 'R' Us. And AMC Entertainment, Aspen Education Group, Brookstone, Burlington Coat Factory, DoubleClick, Dunkin' Donuts, D&M Holdings, Guitar Center, Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), Sealy, The Sports Authority, Staples, Toys "R" Us, Warner Music Group and ...
gasp! ... The Weather Channel.
(We're gonna need a bigger boat!)
2:00 PM PT: Shahryar claims to be more proud of this comment on the topic (from another diary) than anything else he has ever written. Frankly, for me it would only be in the top five, but judge for yourself:
Romney on the Crucifixion: "Not the nails I'd use"
Romney on Joe McCarthy's supposed list of 253 Communists in government: "Not the paper stock I'd use".
Romney on Benedict Arnold: "Not the wig I'd wear".
If you have your own variations on the theme, such as
Romney on Jeffrey Dahmer: "Not the proper marinade"
you can respond to the comment
here.