Glenn Sacks (with MANY others) has done it again!

[Kitty C.]

Victory! Domino's Pulls Support from Cox After Protests from Fathers' Groups, His Side Listeners
 
October 7, 2004
 
 
In the face of a storm of protest from father and child advocates, Domino's Pizza has withdrawn its support from a highly publicized campaign by Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox which encourages child involvement in the collection of child support.
 
Over the past year Cox has targeted so-called "deadbeat dads" in Michigan with punitive measures and billboards which feature large handcuffs bearing the slogan "We Never Treat Deadbeats with Kid Gloves." His recently announced billboard campaign encourages custodial parents to have their children draw billboard designs critical of noncustodial parents who are allegedly behind on their child support.

Several advocacy groups, including the American Coalition for Fathers and Children and Dads of Michigan, along with nationally-syndicated radio talk show host Glenn Sacks and internet broadcaster Richar' Farr of KRightsRadio, have protested the campaign. A letter to Domino's from the ACFC notes that the billboard campaign "inflames conflict between parents and psychologically abuses children...common sense should tell you how psychologically harmful it is to children to ask them to draw a negative picture of one of their parents."

Sacks told his listeners that "most fathers who don't pay, can't pay" and urged them to call and write Domino's. Sacks, who hosts His Side with Glenn Sacks,  cited a Michigan Family Independence Agency study that says that almost 90% of all Michigan child support arrearages are owed by those earning less than $10,000 a year. He added:

"Many divorce settlements specifically say that parents are not allowed to denigrate or badmouth their ex-spouses in front of their children, and Mike Cox, the top law enforcement official in the state of Michigan, tells custodial parents to have their kids design billboards targeting their fathers!"

Farr emphasized that "children should never be dragged into discussions of adult issues like child support, visitation, or other divorce or family breakup topics. Divorce is already painful for kids....this campaign is encouraging more negativity."

In a prepared statement, Domino's said "we were not informed about this contest in advance, nor did we endorse the use of our company name in conjunction with it." The company has asked the Attorney General's office to be removed from the list of sponsors for the contest, and is planning to issue a public apology as early as today.

 

[Brent]

I posted this but you snuck in a few seconds before me, so I deleted mine. :)

Thanks for posting this!

[Kitty C.]

Couldn't pass this one up!  Domino's is NATION WIDE and has a lot more notariety than that stupid t-shirt company did.  

Just ONCE I'd like to see a major media organization pick up a story like this.  ACFC said it right............'common sense should tell you how psychologically harmful it is to children to ask them to draw a negative picture of one of their parents.'

People, the general public, should be aware of this.  I honestly think that if they knew, they'd be APPALLED and outraged.  

[MYSONSDAD]

Why not every one send this out to all their local papers. Someone is sure to wind of it...

'Children Learn What they Live'

[Hawkeye]

I never did like their pizza anyway... LOL

[MYSONSDAD]

"Children learn what they live"

[joni]

Here's their apology, posted on the front page of their web site...they have no clue what they're talking about and they miss the point totally.  

Morons.

Dear Valued Customer,

In the past few days, you may have heard news about Domino's involvement in a program with the Michigan Attorney General's office. We want to take this opportunity to share what has occurred, how it happened and how we are responding.

In January, we responded to a request, and donated pizza gift certificates to the Michigan Attorney General's office and his foundation, which is geared toward helping ensure non-custodial parents fulfill their obligations and pay child support, which is a growing problem in Michigan and throughout the country...DO THEY CARE WHY IT'S A GROWING PROBLEM?  NOT BECAUSE DADS DON'T WANT TO PAY, THEY CAN'T AFFORD IT OR FOR THAT MATTER, HOW MANY NCP'S STRUGGLE TO MAKE ENDS MEET SO THEY'RE NOT CONCEIVED AS DEADBEATS..... Our intent, expectation and understanding was that these gift certificates would be used in an appropriate way, and in some way, benefit kids by bringing attention to the cause.

Separate from our involvement, a contest was created by the Attorney General's office, which encouraged kids to design a billboard to promote the program, with their graphic interpretation of the problem of unpaid child support. Domino's gift certificates were offered to the first 250 entries, linking our name with this contest.

We were unaware of this use of Domino's gift certificates for the PayKids billboard contest until concerns and complaints from various consumers began coming to us. As we were not informed of this contest in advance, nor did we endorse the use of our company name in conjunction with it, we are angry about receiving the many complaints that associate our brand with a campaign that was so negative and ill-conceived.

As a company, we do not have a political bias or agenda. We simply want to sell pizza - and we know we cannot do that by alienating any of our customers or potential customers, as this issue clearly does.

An important part of our company philosophy is to be a good corporate citizen, and we support a variety of causes and children's charities, including St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Variety Children's Charities, Child Help, Make-A-Wish and dozens of others. In providing gift certificates to the Attorney General's foundation, we made an honest, good-hearted mistake: we thought we were helping kids.....HOW ABOUT HELPING THE KIDS BY BRINGING TO THE PUBLIC'S ATTENTION THE PLIGHT AND DAMAGE DONE BY VISITATIONS DENIED BY CUSTODIAL PARENTS..... We were never informed of the foundation's decision to use our gift certificates as an incentive for children to design billboards in order to pressure a parent into paying child support. We would have immediately and strongly declined the opportunity if we had been given the chance.

Thank you for your understanding.

Domino's Pizza, Inc.

[MYSONSDAD]

http://www.mlive.com/news/statewide/index.ssf?/base/news-5/109723025029760.xml

Child-support billboard contest draws wrath of dads, Domino's
Friday, October 08, 2004
By Judy Putnam
Lansing Bureau

LANSING -- Domino's Pizza blasted Attorney General Mike Cox in an open
letter to customers, apologizing for its unwitting role in a billboard
contest it called "n! egative and ill-conceived.''
 Thursday, Ann Arbor-based Domino's posted an apology on the company Web
site, after receiving several dozen complaints.

[msme]

//www.paykids.com

Go to the bottom of that page & there is a button to write to the officials.
Here is what I wrote to the governor.

Honorable Sir,

I take great offence at your AG's contest that asks children of divorce to draw pictures, that depict deadbeat parents, to be used for billboards. Aren't these children suffering enough? Do you, or he, really believe that a billboard is really going to make a person, who doesn't intend to pay, run out & pay up?  Of course not. All it will succeed in doing is involving children in things that are none of their business.

I believe that almost every court order, involving children, states that neither parent is to discuss legal or financial problems with the children. To ask a child to draw such a picture is to be in contempt of those orders.

Are you going to apply as much effort in enforcing custody & visitation orders? How about custodial interference? What about a parent who alienates a child from the other parent. I assure you that these 3 problems hurt the children of this coutry a hundred times worse than unpaid child support ever will.

There are free meals at school, public & private agencies & such who will help with the necessities of life but NOBODY can stop the pain of a child who has had their other parent removed from the status of parent to visitor or completely removed. Not to mention the pain the parent suffers.

Thank you for your attention,

You never get a second chance to make a first impression!