My letter to Iams - pet owners take note!

[sleepyhead]

To whom it may concern:

I am a veterinarian (in practice for over 15 years) and a pet owner. My clients often ask me what type of food to feed their cats and dogs. I tell them, truthfully, that I have fed all my cats (at home and in my clinic) Iams and Eukanuba diets and that they have thrived. We also give out samples of your foods in all our introductory puppy and kitten packages, and recommend your prescription diets to our patients who require them. I think you provide a great set of products and have been very happy with the service and support that I have gotten from your company over the years, which makes the letter that I now have to write all the more unpleasant.

It has come to my attention that the Iams Company is one of the top ten sponsors of programming on the Sinclair Broadcasting network. Several months ago, this network refused to air a Nightline show that involved reading of the American casualties in Iraq, stating that it did not wish to provide a forum for politically-motivated programming in a seemingly impartial news format. Strangely enough, this same network is now planning to air a one-sided "documentary" whose sole purpose is to discredit one of our presidential nominees, Senator John Kerry. They don't seem to have any qualms about the fact that the film, "Stolen Honor', is a thinly-disguised propaganda piece which intends to mislead the casual audience into thinking that it is a news story. I feel that this is a cynical, hypocritical move on their part and is politically motivated.

I cannot continue to support a company that provides financing for such partisan misuse of air time. The airwaves belong to us, the American public, and are not intended to be used as a means of disseminating misinformation. Sadly, I will have to find a different brand of cat food to feed my pets, and will need to start recommending some other brand of pet food to my clients; as I cannot condone the tactics of the network that the Iams Company is financing with its advertising dollars.

Unless the Iams Company is willing to withdraw all advertising from the Sinclair network, I will never purchase (or encourage my clients to purchase) any Iams/Eukanuba product again. I am sure many other veterinarians feel as I do (and a number of the pet owners I know are also planning to boycott your products) - please consider the fact that you are alienating an extremely loyal customer base, and reconsider your support of Sinclair. I hope you will reevaluate your sponsorship, so that I can continue to recommend your diets.

Thank you for your attention.

[Philostopher]

1. Just an FYI ...

Iams is owned by Procter and Gamble -- I don't know if Eukanuba/Iams makes decisions about its ad revenue, or if all those decisions are routed through P&G. Might want to cc Procter and Gamble on that letter, just in case.

[sleepyhead]

3. Good thought.

Will do that ASAP.

[NMDemDist2]

2. that's the correct way to write a boycott letter

professional, logical and polite

very well done!

[XanaDUer]

4. Just wrote them , too.

...

[Rhoderick]

5. You should boycott Iams anyway

http://www.iamscruelty.com/

[linazelle]

6. I didn't know Eukanuba was affiliated with Iams...I'll be changing my dog

food brand very soon. nt

[Rebellious Republican]

7. They are the same, P&G and IAMS, see this thread..........

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=2512361&mesg_id=2512361&page=

Very well written letter, that is exactly the type of letters they hate to see. Extremely effective I think!



:toast:

[Auntie Bush]

8. Great letter! Congratulations! So buy NUTRO.

Expensive but excellent healthy product.

[Mean_Mr_Mustard]

9. I like

THis letter alot keep up the good work and defend our pets

[sleepyhead]

11. I like

your name. made me smile. Welcome to DU!

[sweetheart]

10. Some mailing tricks for such a letter

Find on the website several directors, and if you can, some large
shareholders of P&G. Then print up a list of the addresses of
these parties... probably about 20.

Copy the letter and the CC-list 20 times and include a few major
newspaper editors as well.

Then registered mail all the letters with the cc-list. The entire
boardroom will be forced to admit the letter was recieved and it
will be a topic at the P&G boardmeeting, it will gain such political
inertia.

A letter can just be roundfiled, but a registered letter always
reaches its recipient. Knowing that the others recieved it, adds
even more political punch. I've seen this technique in action, and
have used it myself for massive effect.

If you get the right investment fund managers with that same letter,
it could be a signal of falling profits for P&G, who will then go
about firefighting.

Godspeed to you. I'm sorry it has come to this.