Email: Best Buy Ads Celebrate Muslim Holiday, Not Christmas
Forwarded email urges a consumer boycott of Best Buy on the grounds that its advertising recognizes a Muslim holiday but not Christmas.
Description: Forwarded email
Circulating since: Nov. 2009
Status: Partly true
Email example contributed by Debra D., Dec. 13, 2009:
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TO BEST BUY CORPORATE:
Our family in the past 15 or so years have spent THOUSANDS of our hard earned DOLLARS at your stores in Memphis, Tennessee. camcorders (2), computers both desktop (2) and laptops( 3) audio systems, surround sound system (1) and HAD PLANNED to buy a laptop for my wife this CHRISTMAS, but since you choose to eliminate MERRY CHRISTMAS from your advertising,and showing wishes to the Muslim holiday instead, we will NEVER darken your doors again. I am emailing this to 300 people on my contact list who are CHRISTIANS and asking them to do the same. Have a Happy and Holy Merry Christmas!! TAKE A GOOD LOOK... THE MUSLIM GREETING IS CIRCLED IN RED. WHERE IS "MERRY CHRISTMAS?"  I'll skip Christmas shopping at Best Buy |
Analysis: The Best Buy display ad reproduced above is real, and was published the weekend before Thanksgiving in 2009. It does, in fact, feature the Islamic holiday greeting "Happy Eid al-Adha." There are no references to Christmas.
Eid al-Adha, the "Festival of Sacrifice," is a three-day observance marking the end of the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca.
The ad elicited complaints from some Christians who decried the hypocrisy of replacing all overt references to Christmas in holiday advertising with "politically correct" alternatives such as "Happy Holidays" — a policy Best Buy admitted instituting in 2006 — only to turn around and mention a Muslim holiday by name in the 2009 Black Friday ad above.
Those who complained would have had a point, had Best Buy not changed its policy this year and decided to honor religious diversity by referencing specific seasonal holidays by name — including Christmas — instead of resorting to generic greetings. "In addition to Happy Eid, you will see greetings of Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joyous Kwanzaa and Feliz Navidad in various Best Buy communications during the holiday season," said spokesperson Lisa Svac Hawks in a statement to the Detroit News.
Another statement posted on a Best Buy message board indicated the revised policy has also been implemented at the store level: "We encourage our employees to interact with customers naturally and wish them a Merry Christmas or share whatever greeting is appropriate for the holiday they are celebrating."
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Sources and further reading:
Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays: What's in a Name?
"Malled" blog, Palm Beach Post, 7 December 2009A Storm Is Brewing at Best Buy
CrunchGear.com, 23 November 2009Best Buy Wishes Muslims Happy Eid al-Adha
Brandweek.com, 23 November 2009Best Buy Ad Celebrates Eid al-Adha but Not Christmas
RightPundits.com, 24 November 2009Best Buy Creates Internet Buzz with Black Friday Ad Marking Muslim Holiday
Detroit News, 24 November 2009Best Buy Stands by 'Happy Eid' Ad, Will Include 'Christmas' in New Ads
Minnesota Independent, 25 November 2009Retail Chains Restore Holidays
Oakland Tribune, 9 December 2006
Last updated: 12/15/09
