Coors responds to boycott with image polishing
1986 1986-09Read it in the scan (PDF at ETOL), page 6 →
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In mid-August, the Coors International Bike Race hit the road in Sonoma, Calif. The race is an annual event which runs through much of the western United States and finishes in Boulder, Colorado-home of the Coors brewery. Teams from all over the world participate in the race, including France, Ireland, Colombia, and Mexico.
Coors brewery, which has come under increasing attack for its notorious anti-labor and anti-civil rights record, is seeking to shine up its image with various publicity stunts.
Coors television commercials try to use Black actors when possible in order to gloss over statements by William Coors such as, "One of the best things the slavetraders did for you [Blacks] was to drag your ancestors over here in chains." Coors sponsors many Cinco de Mayo festivals to cover up its attacks on Chicano workers at the brewery.
Coors has also launched a college fund for children of Vietnam veterans. This is ironic considering how hard the Colorado brewery is pushing to get us into a new Vietnam-Coors is one of the largest private funders of the contras. The International Bike Race is just one more ploy to legitimize the activities of Coors Inc.
One interesting aspect of the race was the participation of East Germany and the Soviet Union. The presence of these teams was used by many liberals to justify support for the race. According to Sonoma Mayor Jerrold Tuller, involving these teams encourages "people to people diplomacy."
Unfortunately, this was achieved by supporting Coors! Wouldn't it have been more effective for the sponsors of this bike race to stand with the almost 13 million people in the AFL-CIO, which has launched a Coors boycott?
The Coors International Bike Race has scored another publicity coup for Coors. Now more than ever the Coors Boycott must be kept alive and strengthened. Boycott all Coors products and events to let the Coors family know what you think of their criminal activities.
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A Marxist Theoretical Review PTEMBER