Just when you think the Rob Ford saga has reached its peak, the news cycle delivers the latest report of questionable behaviour by Toronto’s mayor, or footage of yet another circus-like day in the city’s council chambers.
In between all the stories about drug use, police surveillance and city councillors getting tackled by the mayor, there have been a few reports of otherwise innocent businesses getting swept up in the Ford scandal. Some haven’t been happy about it, while others are gleefully trying to take full advantage of the media attention generated by the biggest (and most embarrassing) story to hit Toronto in decades.
What follows are a few companies (and individuals) that have either tried to distance themselves from Rob Ford as much as possible, or are diving head-first into the scandal to see what profit they can make from their fleeting brush with the greatest political train wreck of our time.
Ford Motor Company
The first company to publicly distance itself from Rob Ford was the one most closely associated with the Toronto mayor by name.
After it was reported that Rob Ford supporters had asked him to sign “Ford Nation” t-shirts adorned with the blue Ford Motor company logo at a charity event, the car manufacturer moved to protect its trademark from unauthorized use.
In an interview with Bloomberg last week, a Ford Motor spokesperson stated that the company “did not grant permission for use of its logo,” and furthermore viewed it “as an unauthorized use of [their] trademark and have asked it to be stopped.”
Iceberg Vodka
Just days after the Ford Motors debacle, it was revealed by Toronto police surveillance documents that Rob Ford may have been a consumer of Iceberg Vodka. The police documents included a photo of an empty Iceberg bottle left in a public park that had possibly been used by Ford and his former driver, Sandro Lisi, this past summer.
The news was not welcomed by the Newfoundland-based Iceberg distillery, who released a statement on Twitter discouraging drinking and driving.
“Iceberg Vodka whole heartedly [sic] believes that ‘if you drink, don’t drive.’ Driving under the influence of alcohol is unacceptable and inexcusable behaviour.”
Toronto Argonauts
Unfortunately for the Toronto Argonauts, Rob Ford made one of his most widely-criticized remarks to the media while wearing his special “Mayor Ford” Argos jersey. In a snap press conference, Ford addressed allegations that he had made inappropriate comments to a former staffer with his now infamous “enough to eat at home” quote (he later apologized that day with his wife by his side, and wearing a jacket and tie instead of the jersey.)
The Argos later put out a statement calling Ford’s leadership “unseemly at best.”
The statement went on to say that Ford’s remarks “while wearing our team’s jersey are particularly disappointing given our organization’s work in the community to help youth deal with issues of bullying prevention.”
The criticism didn’t seem to faze Ford, however, as he showed up for the Argos’ CFL East Division final against the Hamilton Tiger Cats this past weekend (and caused a bit of a ruckus in the process).
Spirit Airlines
While a few brands have been less than pleased to find themselves wrapped up in the Ford scandal, others have taken it upon themselves to capitalize on recent events.
Spirit Airlines, an American provider of cheap flights, sent out an email to customers last week announcing trips to Toronto for around US$30. The ad included a silhouette of a man resembling Rob Ford.
The tagline? “We’re not smoking crack… our fares REALLY are this low!”
Sun News Network
After Rob Ford’s and his brother—Toronto city councillor Doug Ford—had their weekly call-in radio show cancelled by station Newstalk 1010, low-rated Sun News Network saw an opportunity.
On Monday, Sun aired the first episode of “Ford Nation” (named after the Ford brothers’ affectionate name for their group of supporters), which included a flashy studio set and consisted of Rob and Doug Ford answering viewer questions.
The first episode was also the last. Unfortunately for the Fords, it was announced the next day that the show has been cancelled, as it required too many resources.
Those Monday night ratings must have been great though.
American Apparel
An American Apparel pop-up outlet store in Toronto is the only place where you can buy the company’s limited-edition Rob Ford rainbow t-shirt. Hurry on down to Spadina Avenue to get yours!
If you’d prefer a different design, American Apparel aren’t the only clothiers looking to profit off the Ford scandal—here you can find a whole array of Rob Ford-themed t-shirts.
eBay Profiteers
It’s not the company itself that reacted to the Ford saga, but eBay has some users that have been able to cash in on all the attention Toronto’s mayor has been garnering in recent weeks.
Last week, Ford spent a few hours at City Hall signing limited edition bobblehead figures of himself, the proceeds of which went to United Way.
The 1,000 “Robbie Bobbies” made available were completely sold out (at $20 each), which means a lot of money went to charity.
But if United Way had known that these bobbleheads would sell on eBay for more than $200, perhaps the original price could have been set a little higher.
This story originally appeared in Canadian Business.
