Via PZ Myers, I learned of a particularly obnoxious sales tactic in my neck of the woods — a Mojave, California Ford dealer is running ads bashing atheists to sell cars.

“Did you know that there are people in this country who want prayer out of schools, “Under God” out of the Pledge, and “In God We Trust” to be taken off our money?”

“But did you know that 86% of Americans say they believe in God? Since we all know that 86 out of every 100 of us are Christians, who believe in God, we at Kieffe & Sons Ford wonder why we don’t tell the other 14% to sit down and shut up. I guess I just offended 14% of the people who are listening to this message. Well, if that is the case then I say that’s tough, this is America folks, it’s called free speech. None of us at Kieffe & Sons Ford is afraid to speak out. Kieffe & Sons Ford on Sierra Highway in Mojave and Rosamond, if we don’t see you today, by the grace of God, we’ll be here tomorrow.”

Kieffe & Sons Ford has probably hit on a very smart advertising tactic, one that I’m surprised we haven’t seen before: gratuitous bashing of an unpopular group to sell goods or services. As far as I know, atheists have not been attempting to drive prayer out of the nation’s Ford dealerships, so the reference to atheists is a complete non sequitur. As others have pointed out, this is the equivalent of saying “Do you think blacks get an unfair advantage with affirmative action? We do too! They oughta know their place! So come in to our shop for 10% of a lube job on your car!”

This will work, and regrettably few will find it offensive. A large swath of society finds it acceptable to demonize atheists. But it’s contemptible. The people of Kieffe & Sons have a poor grasp of the Third Commandment — they’re invoking God to denigrate someone in order to sell cars. For shame.

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