You’re now racist if you don’t advertise with us!

The Detroit Free Press reports:

Leaders of several major Black-owned media companies including Byron Allen and Ice Cube are accusing General Motors CEO Mary Barra of being racist for what they described as her refusal to meet with them.

They are asking for an hour-long Zoom meeting with her or, in the alternative, her resignation.

So what exactly is it that they are so upset about?

The Black-owned media group wants GM to allocate at least 5% of its ad budget to Black-owned media companies, said Allen in an interview with the Free Press on Sunday. 

Oh. So they don’t just want a meeting. They want 5% of GM’s advertising budget given to them because the rich owners of the companies are black.

The ad says “less than 0.5% goes to media companies owned” by African Americans, calling that “horrendous, considering that we as African Americans make up approximately 14% of the population in America and we spend billions buying your vehicles.”

Maybe GM spend money on media read and viewed by African Americans, rather than owned by them?

Allen said the men who signed the ad have known each other for years. For the past five years, they have been reaching out to Barra asking for a meeting to win more of GM’s advertising. But Barra does not respond, he said.

Why would you? If you want a share of an advertising spend you make your case based on who reads or views your material, not who owns the company. The former is marketing, the latter is extortion.

This time GM’s Chief Marketing Officer Deborah Wahl responded indicating she would meet with them instead, Allen said. That was the final straw that prompted the group to compose the ad, which Allen said is currently running only in the Free Press.

If it was about marketing, not reputational blackmail, then you would want to meet the Chief Marketing Officer.