Ford announced today that it had pulled its advertising from the News of the World following allegations that a private investigator working for the paper hacked into schoolgirl Milly Dowler’s phone.
The news came as several of the papers key advertisers assessed the future of their relationship with the newspaper, following an internet campaign that demanded firms stop doing business with it.
Ford said it would stop advertising in the newspaper for the time being, while Npower and Halifax were among the companies that said they were reviewing their advertising plans with the paper.
The moves appeared to be in response to a public backlash on the web, with thousands taking to Twitter and Facebook to express outrage at allegations of phone hacking at the News of the World.
Ford said it would work with alternative media instead, including papers in the News International group such as The Sun and its website. A spokesman said: “Ford is a company which cares about the standards of behaviour of its own people and those it deals with externally.
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“We are awaiting an outcome from the News of the World investigation and expect a speedy and decisive response. Pending this response we will be using alternative media within and outside News International Group instead of placing Ford advertising in the News of the World.”
Companies such as the Co-operative, WH Smith, EasyJet, Butlins and Renault were also among those targeted by a list published online, which encouraged people to send Twitter messages to the firms expressing concern at the activities of the newspaper.
The list, which appears to have first been published by the women’s website Mumsnet, provided links to pre-prepared messages for people to send on to companies asking if they would reconsider advertising on the News of the World’s pages.
A typical message read: “Dear @TheCooperative, will you be reconsidering your advertising spend with #notw given that we now know they hacked Milly Dowler’s phone?”
The tweets were quickly republished by thousands of people, sending the hashtag #notw soaring up the microblogging sites list of “trending topics” in Britain. Meanwhile, the name of Rebekah Brooks, the underfire chief executive of News International, parent company of The Times, was also a trending topic in London today.
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Some went further, with thousands of people joining various Facebook groups that called for a boycott of buying the newspaper, as well as its advertisers unless they chose to take their trade elsewhere.
Npower said “We note the concerns which have arisen on the back of fresh allegations of phone hacking against the News of the World. We are currently reviewing our options.” Ford said it was considering it options because “we look to behave in a certain way and expect our partners to do so as well.”
Other companies on the widely-circulated list of advertisers declined to comment or said they had not considered the issue. Some, including the Co-Op and the online fashion retailer Brand Alley said that they had no plans to change their advertising plans.
“As long as they remain just allegations then the Co-Operative won’t change its position,” a Co-Op spokesman said. A Virgin Media spokeswoman said: “We patiently await the outcome of any investigation.” Several companies, including Renault UK and WH Smith said that they had no advertising booked with the newspaper in any case.