Okay, I am neither a devoted listener nor a spirited critic of Don Imus or his show/s. But his past humor decisions continue to get him and those around him in legal and personal hot water. Now I do not think his current legal case of Foot in Mouth Diseased Humor will cause the furor of his Rutgers Moment, but once again, it could prove to be costly to his choice of career value, to his personal pocketbook, and his former employer CBS.
Anyone that regularly listens to talk radio (I do) can tell you that part of the job is hawking advertisers merchandise and products. It pays the bills! Imus obviously is not a member of the clueminatti when it pertains to this part of his chosen business. In a spot where Imus is supposed to be the carnival barker luring his listeners to his sponsors’ product he had a Freudian Sales Slip moment and committed one of the ultimate faux pas of business, he disparaged the advertisers product. Oops, a major rule of sales
sell features/benefits/excitement – not personal opinion!!! Sell the sizzle and aroma of that bacon, not how it’s going to clog the arteries. That will not win you brownie points with your sales management or allure potential advertisers. According to the article from The Smoking Gun, in this moment of zaniness, Imus managed to call his clients, Flatsigned Books, bastards and cheesy among other things that he said about the product they were selling. Now I talked about Flatsigned Books during my posts of Less Ordinary Christmas Gifts. The book, an autographed by President Gerald R. Ford Limited Edition Book “The John F. Kennedy Assassination” with Comments on President’s Nixon, George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush, is one of several collectors edition autographed books that they sell. Imus took offense that they were selling it after Fords death, and thus out came his abuse towards the company. Now I do not remember all the particulars but I seem to remember hearing that the agreement Flatsigned had with Ford was not to offer the books up until after his death. That was probably conducive for both parties. It was good for Ford as his foreword was said to contain statements critical of the Warren Commission Report in which he played a major role. It was good for Flatsigned because although it meant they had to sit on costly inventory, Fords death as the last surviving member of the Warren Commission drives the collectors value of the book higher. No matter the reason, Imus decision to attack his shows advertiser, Flatsigned, is detrimental to that company while also damaging to Imus’ ability to appeal to advertisers. Flatsigned is asking four million in damages. You have to wonder if any fallout from this lawsuit will eventually spill over to his new show on ABC.