I am a fully paid up member of the tofu-eating wokerati and probably drink more gin and tonic than is entirely reasonable, so was disappointed to see the following shared on Mastodon:
I downloaded the image in question for more detail of the logos:
I don’t believe it’s much use boycotting a company if you don’t contact them to explain why you’re doing it – if they see a downturn in sales they have no way of knowing whether it’s due to a specific poor decision or the general economic downturn. So I sent Fever Tree the following message through their contact form about their logo appearing in the company of such organisations as the America First Policy Institute (a right wing think tank created under Trump), the Heritage Foundation which led on Project 2025 and Turning point USA, a campaigning group against progressive teaching in the American education system:
I am contacting you about your Fever Tree’s sponsorship of the Republican National Convention. I have been a Fever Tree customer for many years, but will no longer be purchasing your products because as a gay woman I do not want my money to go towards a political party that actively opposes the rights of people like me. I appreciate that a company cannot be expected to agree with 100% of the ideological stance of everyone at every event it funds for publicity, but frankly there’s a line and should the Republican Party in its current form be elected it would become a threat not only to the rights of at least 50% of Americans, it threatens the security of the entire world. You have lost a customer this week.
They replied as follows:
Many thanks for your email.
I wanted to respond to clarify that Fever-Tree does not have any political affiliations and we are not a sponsor of the Republican Party.
We are a supplier to many of the venues/accounts that are hosting events during the Republican convention in Milwaukee this week and as part of our on-going support to these venues have agreed to provide additional product for some of these events and in doing so are listed as a partner to the Milwaukee Host committee which is a nonpartisan entity.
Please be in absolutely no doubt that the provision of product to our accounts is not an endorsement of any political party.
I subsequently discovered that the situation is a little more complicated than the initial post lead me to believe, as the Millwaukee Host Committee (https://mke2024host.org/) which is what these logos are listed as partners of is indeed a separate organisation to the Republican National Convention itself. It describes itself as a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization whose mission is as follows:
- To work on behalf of the City of Milwaukee, its businesses and residents to ensure that the 2024 Republican National Convention has all the tools it needs to be successful.
- To drive a lasting social and economic impact across the greater Milwaukee area and the State of Wisconsin while delivering a best-in-class experience for the 45,000-plus anticipated attendees.
Starbucks, whose logo also appears and which is still an awful company for its union busting and assorted labour practices, has issued a statement https://newrepublic.com/post/183954/no saying that it has provided no cash donations but is providing coffee onsite to the first responders during the convention and stressing that it did the same for the Democratic convention. I’m not sure this is the ideological neutral position it’s presented as – why offer this service to first responders at political party conventions and not, say, Pride parades, responders to climate disasters like the current Toronto floods for example, or indeed to all responders under all circumstances.
There are certainly some non-partisan organisation logos on the list of partners. It includes the Forest County Potawatomi Community, a nation that bought up a local mine to prevent the environmental harm its reopening would cause and are probably not particularly keen on much of the Republican agenda. It also includes Visit Milwaukee, a local organisation promoting tourism, and 3rd Street Market Hall, a Milwaukee dining and entertainment complex. Nevertheless I feel at the point when the American Republican party has explicitly said the quiet bit out loud, committing to an end to accountability for the President for any crimes they may commit, the replacement of government staffers with loyalists, an end to climate targets, support for Ukraine and rights for women, immigrants and queer people, it crossed a line and stepped outside the limits of acceptable political discourse.
Companies probably shouldn’t be wanting their brand associated with it any more than they would want to be associated with other parties that have historically called for similar measures. If Fever Tree (or indeed 3rd Street Market Hall) wouldn’t want their logo appearing next a swastika they probably shouldn’t want it appearing next to the logo of the Heritage Foundation. The aim of boycotts like this is to show companies that some organisations are so reputationally toxic that they shouldn’t assist them in any way, in the hope of ultimately starving these organisations of their social licence and financial support.
I sent the following back and have not received a reply.
Many thanks for taking the time to reply.
In future marketing campaigns you may wish to consider the reputational damage likely caused by your logo appearing alongside such organisations as America First Policy Institute, the American Petroleum Institute, the Heritage Foundation and Turning Point USA https://mke2024host.org/. I am sure that many hospitality suppliers have had to increase the amount of products they deliver to a town hosting a busy convention without being listed as a partner.
It all feels rather murky, and I certainly shan’t be buying Fever Tree tonic in future.
Tangled Bank Foraging and Fibre Crafts 