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Gay Controversy May Have Benefited Chick-fil-A

Gay Controversy May Have Benefited Chick-fil-A

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The fast-food chain saw an increase in patronage in the third quarter, when the uproar over its antigay donations was at its height, a market research firm reports.

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Consumers who supported Chick-fil-A's antigay activism -- or those who simply responded to the company's heighted public profile --apparently stepped up for the fast-food chain this summer.

During the third quarter of this year, the number of people who told survey-takers they'd visited Chick-fil-A within the previous month increased 2.2% over the same period in 2011, according to the Quick-Track study by chain restaurant market research firm Sandelman & Associates.

This means "Chick-fil-A may have benefited from remarks by president and chief operating officer Dan Cathy that he supported the 'biblical definition of the family unit,'" ABC News reports.

Cathy had said in a July interview with the Baptist Press news service that he was "guilty as charged" in opposing same-sex marriage. It had come to light that the company's charitable foundation had donated millions to antigay groups.

LGBT activists called for a boycott of the chain and organized a Same-Sex Kiss-In Day to protest, and public officials in Chicago and Boston threatened to block the company from opening new restaurants in their cities. Meanwhile, conservatives urged supporters to patronize the chain, with former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, now a Fox News Channel host, launching a Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day that generated record sales.

The controversy was "something that brought Chick-fil-A to the forefront of people's minds," Sandelman & Associates president Jeff Davis told ABC. "There are a lot of people who have an affinity to the brand, and when you drive those things together it drives some action." Chick-fil-A officials declined comment.

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Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.
Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.