How to get companies not to sell objectionable products

Protest the game maker 
but don’t stop there

I want to be clear: I am all for pressuring certain game publishers to make changes in the way they portray women in their games.

But I suggest not stopping there.

Most companies don’t care what they sell as long as it returns a profit.* As for choosing a product to sell profitably, there’s a hard and an easy way to go about it. The hard way is to push what no one would buy otherwise. The easy way is to find out what people are willing to pay for, and then supply it to them. Most companies opt for the easy way.

That tells you that when a company keeps on supplying a product, there are enough people demanding it to make supplying it profitable. If the demand dries up, the supply will, too. That is how capitalism works. Or, when it comes to matters of taste and sometimes conscience, fails to work.

By all means pressure companies to drop or change objectionable products. You may well succeed. But for a lasting fix, it’s vitally important to reach out to those who see nothing wrong with buying and using that product. Show them why it’s harmful. Show them why they should have no part of it. 

Do not expect a willing audience. You will most likely have to whittle away over time. You may have better luck with the rising generation while leaving to attrit those who don’t get it. Either way, it is worth the effort and the time.

—Steve Cuno

*Despite, if they have one, some lofty mission statement hanging in the break room. I’ll never forget the bank whose mission statement said, “While some banks are looking to make a profit, we want to make a difference, one person at a time.” Yeah, right. I doubt that even the person who wrote that believed it.

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