June 27, 2012

Wal-Mart Previously Fired Mercury Public Affairs For Racist Ad In 2006

On Monday, Wal-Mart announced that it will be dropping Mercury Public Affairs, a leading PR and lobbying firm, after one of its associate spied on some warehouse workers in Los Angeles. “We take this matter seriously and have taken the appropriate steps to ensure this type of activity is not repeated,” said Wal-Mart spokesman Steven Restivo. But there’s one problem with Wal-Mart’s excuse. It had already fired Mercury in 2006 after one of its staffers, Terry Nelson, produced a racist ad against Democratic Senate candidate Harold Ford. The question now is simple. Will Wal-Mart be firing Mercury for good this time, or wait a few years for controversy to die down and once again hire this firm that has spied on union workers and produced racist ads?