Rush Limbaugh’s most recent foot-in-mouth moment was calling Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke a slut and a prostitute. Advertisers began to jump ship at an alarming rate. Limbaugh issued a Saturday blogged apology in which he said that his “choice of words was not the best”, but advertisers have continued bailing or distancing themselves.
But, in any scandal lies opportunity for someone. And, Limbaugh is starting to actually gain some potential advertisers who feel they can use his notoriety to their advantage.
In a press release issued on March 6, a website that purports to help bring “sugar daddies” together with young, willing women announced its intention to buy $500,000 worth of advertising on Limbaugh’s show.
From their release:
“Rush Limbaugh is one of the greatest examples of the modern day Sugar Daddy,” says [the site’s founder]. “We wouldn’t feel right if we didn’t come forward and support him in his time of need.”
The press release made a point of mentioning that the founder had “a BS and an MBS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.”
The company’s release went on to try to parallel Limbaugh’s attack on Sandra Fluke with distasteful comments many people make about gold-diggers who sleep with rich men in a “mutually beneficial arrangement”. Their angle was that they support Limbaugh with their ad dollars because, unlike those others, he “apologized”.
The site features mostly college-age girls who list their remuneration expectations as anywhere from “Open – Amount Negotiable” on some listings to “US$10,001 – $20,000 monthly”. One of the female profile photos on the site had a stock photo site watermark symbol on it.
Another site that helps people cheat on their spouses has announced that they want to buy up all of Limbaugh’s ad space vacated by others.
The terms of these media buy offers are not disclosed. Whether or not either of these opportunists will actually follow through with an ad buy, or are simply using the trending popularity of search terms related to the scandal to boost their own presence remains to be seen. You’ll note that we did not name them here.
Scandal attracts bottom-feeding opportunists like a carcass attracts buzzards. Losing advertisers may not worry Limbaugh. The fact that the dregs are starting to circle overhead should.