All the Ads Pulled from Rush Limbaugh's Show

This article is from the archive of our partner .

Less than 10 companies had pulled their ads from Rush Limbaugh's radio show Tuesday, when The Atlantic Wire counted the ads still running on the Washington, D.C.-area WMAL broadcast. Since then, the number pulling their ads has more than doubled.

Here's our tally of the companies -- both national and local -- who've stopped supporting Limbaugh, despite his apology Monday for calling Sandra Fluke a prostitute for her testimony before Congress.

Update: We're trying to keep a running tally of all the advertisers who've pulled their spots from Limbaugh's radio show -- or say their ads aired during his show were done so by mistake -- but it's tough! If you see a company that's pulled its ads not listed among the more than 50 here, send an email or tell us in the comments.

Sleep Number: "Recent comments by Rush Limbaugh do not align w/our values, so we made decision to immediately suspend all advertising on that program," tweeted March 2.
The Sleep Train: "As a diverse company, Sleep Train does not condone such negative comments directed toward any person," vice president of marketing Mike Wilson said in a statement March 2.
Quicken Loans: "Due to continued inflammatory comments– along w/valuable feedback from clients & team members– QL has suspended ads on Rush Limbaugh program," tweeted March 2.
Legal Zoom: "As of today, LegalZoom has suspended all advertising on the Rush Limbaugh show," tweeted March 2.
Citrix: "Over the past day, we’ve heard from many great Citrix customers about our advertising on The Rush Limbaugh Show. These customers have expressed their growing concern that some of his recent comments seem inconsistent with the core values Citrix has always stood for – humility, integrity and respect. While Citrix obviously does not control any show’s content or endorse opinions of their hosts, we do take the concerns of our customers seriously. When they are upset about something, we listen. After careful consideration, we have decided to discontinue our advertising on The Rush Limbaugh Show," posted on Facebook March 9.
Carbonite: “No one with daughters the age of Sandra Fluke, and I have two, could possibly abide the insult and abuse heaped upon this courageous and well-intentioned young lady. Mr. Limbaugh, with his highly personal attacks on Miss Fluke, overstepped any reasonable bounds of decency. Even though Mr. Limbaugh has now issued an apology, we have nonetheless decided to withdraw our advertising from his show. We hope that our action, along with the other advertisers who have already withdrawn their ads, will ultimately contribute to a more civilized public discourse," CEO David Friend posted on the company's website March 3.
ProFlowers: "At ProFlowers, our mission is to delight our customers with fresh and long lasting flowers, and that is our singular focus each and every day. We do not base our advertising decisions to align with any particular political view or opinion as our employees and customers are as diverse as the USA. Mr. Limbaugh’s recent comments went beyond political discourse to a personal attack and do not reflect our values as a company. As such, ProFlowers has suspended advertising on The Rush Limbaugh radio program," posted on the company's Facebook page March 4.
Thompson Creek Windows: @RushWMALads @rushlimbaugh @wmalnews we have requested our ads be pulled from his show. They should be completely removed tomorrow," tweeted March 4.
Hadeed Carpet: "As of this past weekend, ALL our #rushlimbaugh commercial spots have been PULLED. We do not support his inexcusable words/beliefs. Thank u," tweeted March 5.
Tax Resolution: "Thank you for your comments and concerns. We have decided to join other advertisers and suspend our sponsorship of The Rush Limbaugh Show," tweeted March 5.
AOL: "At AOL one of our core values is that we act with integrity. We have monitored the unfolding events and have determined that Mr. Limbaugh’s comments are not in line with our values. As a result we have made the decision to suspend advertising on The Rush Limbaugh Radio show," posted on its Facebook page March 5.
Bonobos: "Looks like we were running on it, but we've told them to pull us from the show indefinitely. Thanks for letting us know!" tweeted March 5.
Sears: "Sears and Kmart did not intentionally advertise on the Rush Limbaugh show. Sears Holdings has taken actions to ensure our ads do not run on this show. We appreciate our customers, fans and followers and thank you for your business," tweeted March 5.
Allstate Insurance: "Allstate does not advertise on or sponsor the Rush Limbaugh show," posted on Facebook March 5.
Vitacost: "Mr. Limbaugh's unsettling comments are not in line with our values, and we've decided to remove our advertising from the program," tweeted March 5.
Sensa: "Rush Limbaugh’s comments are not in line with SENSA values so we are pulling our ads indefinitely which shud be down in the next couple days," tweeted March 5.
Bare Escentuals: "All, we take your feedback to heart and can assure u we did not authorize the airing of our ads during The Rush Limbaugh Show... We've taken steps to ensure that our radio ads do not air on this program," tweeted March 5.
Goodwill: "Goodwill is a non-partisan nonprofit organization. Public service announcements are not paid advertisements and should not be considered endorsements of a particular political or ideological point of view. The Goodwill public service announcement that aired on WMAL or other stations affiliated with the Rush Limbaugh show aired without Goodwill’s knowledge or consent. No further Goodwill public service announcements will be aired without our permission," posted on its Facebook page March 5. As for the ad we heard Monday, Goodwill explains via email, "The PSA that aired was intended for a DC-area music station but a sister station that airs Rush Limbaugh ran the PSA without our knowledge or consent."
Service Magic: "It has come to our attention that some of our advertisements have inadvertently been airing in conjunction with the Rush Limbaugh show. While we at ServiceMagic respect the individual political beliefs held by our customers, recent comments on the show do not align with the values we hold at the core of our company and as such, have requested to remove our support as an advertiser," posted March 5.
Bethesda Sedation Dentistry: "Bethesda Sedation Dentistry is happy to join the fight! Effective immediately, we will pull our Rush ads," tweeted March 5.
Cascades Dental: "Mr. Limbaugh’s comments are inconsistent with the values of our practice. We have canceled all our advertising on his show," tweeted March 5.
AccuQuote Life Insurance: "AccuQuote has instructed our media agency to immediately pull all our advertising campaigns that support Rush Limbaugh. His recent comments do not reflect the values of AccuQuote," posted on Facebook March 5.
Geico: "In 2004 when Rush Limbaugh’s program also carried remarks that were inappropriate, we ceased all advertising on his show. We don’t advertise there to this day. On occasion, a local station may mistakenly run a GEICO ad in the wrong time slot. We are directing our ad buyers to make sure that doesn’t happen," the company said in a statement March 5.
Netflix: The company has emailed to say it doesn't advertise on Limbaugh's shows, though we heard its ad Monday. It's likely the company is in the same situation as several other companies that bought airtime but not specifically for Limbaugh's show. Some companies -- like Geico and Capital One -- say their ads ran on the show in error. Update Tuesday 3:19p.m.: Netflix writes to add, "What you’re hearing is a network ad buy, dropped inside the program during network time, and not an ad that supports the Rush Limbaugh Show. Netflix does not advertise on the Rush Limbaugh Show. Long ago we instructed the agency that buys ads for Netflix not to have any Netflix ads appear on the network time the airs inside the show (at half-hour breaks) so those ads have appeared in error. They are being removed."
PolyCom: "Polycom does some syndicated radio advertising, including spots on WMAL, however we had no intention to run ads on the Rush Limbaugh Show. The recent comments by Mr. Limbaugh go against our core values, and we have taken action to discontinue advertising on this program," posted on Facebook March 6.
John Deere: "Deere is reviewing the placement of these advertisements, as the company has not chosen to be a current advertiser," Kenneth Golden, director of global public relations, told Bloomberg March 6, explaining that dealers had bought the ads through a network.
Stamps.com: "Rush Limbaugh's recent comments do not align with our company values, and as such, Stamps.com has suspended advertising on the Rush Limbaugh radio program," the company said in a statement March 6.
St. Vincent’s Medical Center: "We agreee that Mr. Limbaugh’s recent derogatory comments regarding an individual testifying before Congress are not acceptable," the company said March 6.
Capital One: "Capital One does not advertise on the Rush Limbaugh Show (and hasn't for some time). If a Capital One ad ran during the program, it was without our permission. We are investigating to see if an error was made by one of our media partners," the company said in a statement March 6. Update Tuesday 3:31p.m.: The company denies placing any ads on the WMAL stream of Rush Limbaugh. We and they are still trying to answer how it ended up on Monday's show. Update Tuesday 6:37p.m.: Capital One emails: "Capital One does not advertise on the Rush Limbaugh Show and hasn't for some time. We've investigated this situation and determined that unbeknownst to us and without our permission, a Capital One ad ran during a local online broadcast of the program. We've been assured by our media partners that this kind of error will not happen again."
Network Capital: The company's Alex Ramirez emailed March 6 to say the company buys ads on WMAL, the D.C. radio station, not Limbaugh's show. He writes, "Our ad campaign is directly affiliated with WMAL as a broadcast station; their programming director dictates the placement of our ads daily. Network Capital does not agree nor condone Mr. Limbaugh’s opinions or statements."
Exergen: "Dear valued customer, It has come to our attention that an Exergen ad has run without our knowledge or authorization on some radio stations that broadcast the Rush Limbaugh program. Exergen has taken prompt action to ensure our ads do not air during this program in the future," posted on the company's Facebook page March 6.

Update Wednesday 11a.m.: Even more advertisers quit Rush:

AutoZone: "AutoZone would like to clarify that we do not purchase advertising on Rush Limbaugh websites, nor do we sponsor the Rush Limbaugh radio show. If a commercial did run, then it did so in error," posted on Facebook March 2.
Downeast Energy: "We have asked the station to discontinue running ads in that time slot due to the host’s repeated pattern of making inflammatory statements that don’t represent the values of Downeast Energy," the company said March 5.
Heart & Body Extract: The supplement maker pulled ads March 5, CNN Money reports, though we haven't found an official company statement yet.
Peter Gabriel: The singer doesn't want his song "Sledgehammer" played during Limbaugh's show anymore. "Peter was appalled to learn that his music was linked to Rush Limbaugh's extraordinary attack on Sandra Fluke... It is obvious from anyone that knows Peter's work that he would never approve such a use. He has asked his representatives to make sure his music is withdrawn and especially from these unfair aggressive and ignorant comments," a representative told the Hollywood Reporter March 5.
Cleveland Cavaliers: "The Cleveland Cavaliers have decided to suspend any and all on-air advertising with the Rush Limbaugh radio program, citing 'inflammatory comments' coupled with valuable feedback from both clients and team employees," the team said in a statement March 5.
Matrix Direct: "#MatrixDirect does not buy ads on #Limbaugh show. Some ads are placed on the show as filler without our knowledge. We’ve told them to stop," tweeted March 6.
Reputation Rhino: "Our reputation is our most important asset. Reputation Rhino has not and does not purchase advertising on The Rush Limbaugh show. We buy network radio advertising on WABC Radio. It has come to our attention that our ad appeared on WABC internet radio during the Rush Limbaugh Show yesterday afternoon. We have instructed Cumulus Radio that our ad should not appear on The Rush Limbaugh Show in the future," posted on Facebook March 6.
Reputation Rhino: "Our reputation is our most important asset. Reputation Rhino has not and does not purchase advertising on The Rush Limbaugh show. We buy network radio advertising on WABC Radio. It has come to our attention that our ad appeared on WABC internet radio during the Rush Limbaugh Show yesterday afternoon. We have instructed Cumulus Radio that our ad should not appear on The Rush Limbaugh Show in the future," posted on Facebook March 6.
Consolidated Credit: "Consolidated Credit fully supports the nationwide outcry against the gravely inappropriate comments Mr. Limbaugh made regarding Ms. Sandra Fluke. As a result, we have instructed our vendors to cease the running of all our advertisements on the Rush Limbaugh program," posted on Facebook March 6.
Constant Contact: "We believe that Rush Limbaugh’s recent statements about law student Sandra Fluke were both inappropriate and disrespectful, and we decided to pull our advertising on his program. Constant Contact is committed to upholding the highest standards of honest, ethical conduct – across all of our business activities," posted on Facebook March 6.
Freedom Debt Relief: "Just to be clear about our ads and commercials. We are indeed pulling all ads from Rush Limbaugh. Obviously Mr. Limbaugh’s comments are inconsistent with the Freedom values that we hold in high regard. Freedom Debt Relief buys a wide array of media, and does not buy radio media directly. Consequently, Freedom does not directly sponsor Rush Limbaugh, we were however advertising with many radio stations and our advertisements aired at their discretion. The comments and remarks by Rush Limbaugh are his own and in no way reflect the beliefs or values of Freedom Debt Relief. That being said, I will repeat, we will be pulling all our advertisements that air during his show," posted on Facebook March 6.
Philadelphia Orchestra: "We’ve asked WPHT not to air our ads on the Rush show while we evaluate the situation-we buy ads across CBSPhilly, not ads on specific shows," tweeted March 6.
Girl Scouts of Oregon and Southwest Washington: A spokesman told Politico March 6, "Our decision to pull our advertising is due to the fact that current programming does not align with the Girl Scout mission. We were unaware at the time of purchase that our commercials would air during the program."
Rush: The band's lawyer demanded Limbaugh stop playing its music March 6.
J.C. Penney: "It has come to our attention that a handful of local radio stations may have played jcpenney radio spots adjacent to or during The Rush Limbaugh Show. To be clear, jcpenney is not a national advertiser of this show. We have a strict “No Run” policy in place specifically regarding The Rush Limbaugh Show. After jcpenney confirms the facts, we will contact any local radio station that is in violation of our radio advertising parameters to ensure that our 'No Run' policy is adhered to regarding this program," posted on Facebook March 6.
Cunningham Security: The Maine company's owner, Michael Major, told the Portland Press Herald March 7 that he's dropping the ads because of customer feedback: "The tone was 'If you're a responsible Maine business you will take a stand against this type of speech.' And one of them actually went as far to say 'If you don't take a stand you will probably find yourself losing customers.'"
RSVP Discount Beverage: The Portland Press Herald reported March 7 the Maine company says it's "in the process of having ads moved due to the recent controversy."
Regal Assets: "The entire team at Regal Assets is truly concerned about what was said on the Rush Limbaugh show toward Sandra Fluke and intend to take all action necessary to remove themselves from any affiliations to Rush Limbaugh and his show. After receiving feedback from many concerned individuals, including staff at Regal Assets, regarding the recent scandal, immediate action was taken to drop all advertising and associations to the Rush Limbaugh show," a statement said March 7.
Norway Savings Bank: "Norway Savings Bank does not agree with or support any of Rush Limbaugh's comments made last week. Our advertising reservations were made last November with the agreement that we would run 35 commercials per week on the radio station. With this type of commitment, ads run at random throughout the day, which means that we did not pre-select any of the programming. Our ad commitment was made to the particular radio station, and not to the Rush Limbaugh Show. The opinions of any media outlet - whether on radio, TV or newspaper - are solely the opinions of the specific media outlet and not those of Norway Savings Bank, its employees or its affiliates. Please note: We have requested that our ads not air during his show," posted on Facebook March 7.
Portland Ovations: "Thank you for your messages about Portland Ovations advertising that recently ran during the Rush Limbaugh program on WGAN. Portland Ovations is not a local sponsor of this show and has requested that Portland Ovations advertising be removed from within and around this program," posted on Facebook March 7.
PageOne Advertising: The ad agency buys spots for clients in the media markets of Pittsburgh, Akron, and Cleveland, and said March 7, "No woman, including Ms. [Sandra] Fluke, should ever be subject to the type of insults and vitriol broadcast during 'The Rush Limbaugh Show' last week, and no individual or business should wish to be associated with this type of irresponsible behavior," Vindy.com reports.

Update Thursday 11:22a.m.: Alert readers have been sending in tips to local businesses who've pulled their ads. We're continuing to list them here.

Bill Kidd's Toyota-Volvo-Scion: "In response to many of our customers concerns with our sponsorship of WCBM and "The Rush Limbaugh Show," we have elected to suspend our ads during his show. Please understand that we contracted with WCBM months ago (not Rush Limbaugh) and do have an ongoing contractual obligation. We are not siding politically with any issue, we just want to be sensitive to our customers concerns and respond to your requests. Thank you for your support and input. Always trying to be a good member of our community, we will continue to try and do what's right. Thank you again for voicing your conerns," posted on the car dealership's Facebook page March 7.
TurboTax: "We are aware a few TurboTax ads have accidentally been aired in conjunction with Rush Limbaugh shows. Per our statement, these ads never should have run. We are looking into the situation in order to prevent any future accidental airings on this show. These ads aired in direct conflict with our media buying guidelines," posted March 7.
American Heart Association: "It is our practice to be a content-sensitive advertiser, and in light of the current controversy, we will be asking WABC to no longer utilize these unpaid PSAs," the group told Bloomberg March 8.
Aquarium of the Pacific: "We are working with our media buying company to remove our ads from Limbaugh's show immediately. Thank you for bringing it to our attention," tweeted March 7.
New York Lottery: "We have discovered that eight digital spots ran against our wishes. We've now taken steps to avoid similar placements in the future," tweeted March 7.

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.

The attorney general says he was acting as a senator, but a review of his activities that summer shows ambassadors seeking him out as a Trump surrogate.

It can be hard to get a straight answer out of Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

When Senator Al Franken asked then-Senator Sessions at his Senate confirmation hearing on January 10 whether he “communicated with the Russian government,” he said, “I'm not aware of any of those activities.” Unprompted, Sessions then went further, saying, “I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and I didn't have—did not have communications with the Russians, and I'm unable to comment on it.” Then less than two months later, on March 1, The Washington Post reported that Sessions had, in fact, met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak—not once, but twice.

It was a serious omission, especially for the nation’s top law-enforcement officer, and one who is a vocal advocate for law and order. Scrambling to contain the damage, Sessions issued a statement that attempted to draw a very subtle distinction. Calling the report “false,” he said that he had “never met with any Russian officials to discuss issues of the campaign.” His spokeswoman, Sarah Isgur Flores, spelled it out even more clearly: “He was asked during the hearing about communications between Russia and the Trump campaign—not about meetings he took as a senator and a member of the Armed Services Committee,” she said. (In fact, Franken had made no such qualification.) And a White House official insisted that Sessions had “met with the ambassador in an official capacity as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee,” not a campaign surrogate.