The Federalist has learned that a well-known branding firm nuked a Catholic organization’s banner, which included a meditation for former US president Donald Trump.
The incident took place last month when Catholics for Catholics ( CforC ), a 501c( 4 ) organization as indicated on the website, signed a contract with Lamar Advertising Company to install its pro-Trump artwork on billboards in Milwaukee and Green Bay, Wisconsin.
A replica of the famous image of a bloody Trump raising his elbow during the assassination attempt on July 13 in Butler County, Pennsylvania is featured in the Catholics for Catholics design. The picture is accompanied by the team’s name, website, and a meditation browsing,” St. Michael The Archangel, Defend Us In Battle”!
The party contacted Lamar Account Executive Brian Kuermaier on August 6 to get a quote for placing their advertising on Wisconsin banners, according to CforC Media Director Veronica Flamenco, and the party immediately contacted them for this. Flamenco claimed Kuermaier was given the pattern “from the beginning” in a statement from Flamenco.
Lamar sent CforC listings of available banner places in Milwaukee, Madison, and Green Bay. Lamar and the Democratic National Committee were contracted for a poster in Milwaukee, according to editions of the addresses obtained by The Federalist.
After Lamar provided the poster location recommendations, Flamenco claimed she tried to bargain the prices of the design. At this point, Kuermaier claimed he was n’t offer any deals because the organization classified CforC’s billboard art as a “political ad.”
Flamenco claimed that the concept was a part of a” Prayer Campaign for Country and Leaders.” She claimed that CforC may receive the discount if Trump’s face was removed from the banner.
In the end, CforC declined, allowing Trevor to refer to it as a “political ad,” according to Flamenco. On August 16, the Catholic organization agreed to pay for three banner places, two of which were in Green Bay and Milwaukee.
A copy of the contract obtained by the Federalist includes a clause stating that Lamar “reserves the right to reject or replace any copy either before or after assembly, including quick termination of this deal.”
Flamenco claimed she received an invoice for the first charge on August 19 but that she decided to hold off on paying it until Lamar sent her the second invoice so she could “pay]the ] full amount” right away.
The following day, however, Kuermaier sent Flamenco and CforC CEO John Yep an email saying his team “went through]its ] process of submitting political , artwork to]Lamar’s ] Corporate Office for approval and the]group’s ] artwork was denied”. He noted that the” concern expressed” was that” Catholics for Catholics ‘ design could obviously be taken as a Catholic endorsement of Trump.”
Flamenco asked about Lamar’s rules and if CforC is “allowed to do anything political”. Kuermaier stated in the letter obtained by The Federalist that “political painting” is acceptable but that Lamar’s corporate business is concerned that” with your name” Christians for Christians” it is impossible not to appear as a Catholic Church confirmation of a political candidate.
Kuermaier wrote that in the answer, he copied Lamar Executive Vice President of Government Relations Hal Kilshaw, saying,” This is considered false and is in our recommendations.”
” You you understand how it is misleading”? Sure also asked in another message, noting that his party is operating as a 501c ( 4 )” with the ability to accept prospects”.
Yep claimed that no formal body within the Catholic Church has made a formal claim that we are defaming because our use of the name is in line with the Church’s own Canon Law (# 216 ), which is true. Although Kilshaw claimed the decision to deny CforC’s design “is consistent with the Lamar Copy Acceptance Policy and is in no way based upon the Catholic Church’s Canon Lay ]sic, our own Church which oversees 25 % of the US Population does not have a problem with what we are doing,” he continued, adding that” we respectfully request that you kindly allow our billboard to have our institutional name.”
The group apparently ended its contract and moved its business abroad, as Yep after claimed in a conversation with The Federalist, after a lot of back and forth between the parties, ultimately denying the design, which also included the group’s full name.
CforC claimed in a press release this month that its “volunteers have identified the actual billboard location ]in Milwaukee ] that was canceled” and “report]ed ] back that the opposite sides of the agreed upon boards contain pro Kamala Harris advertisements”.
Okay informed The Federalist that Catholics for Catholics has since worked with a unique marketing firm and placed its posters in several battleground states like Nevada and Pennsylvania. The team also has posters in Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Arizona, according to its site.
The CforC CEO compared the affair to” Big Tech repression during the 2020 election,” saying it’s” not just some Christian quarrel” and that businesses like Lamar are” trying to stop our types of information.” According to the National Catholic Register, the firm cited a recent story about how a poster business” sweet canceled” a pro-life firm in its media release by putting the academic volunteer under an “advocacy” group for which it would have to pay significantly higher rates.
” This is a trend that’s not being talked about. It’s one of the old school styles of marketing, which is still very much valid”, Yep told The Federalist. ” It’s just like]what ] social media]and ] Google]are doing]. It’s using the force they have to put an end to our side.
Lamar did not respond to The Federalist’s request for comment.
Shawn Fleetwood is a University of Mary Washington graduate and a staff writer for The Federalist. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClear Health, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
