“After the 12th phone call accusing us of bias, we knew we had a problem,” said Greg Nelson, a manager at ABC Fine Wine & Spirits in Tampa. “Look, I love a good debate as much as the next guy, but we sell tequila. That’s it. We have no say in who the moderators are, let alone fact-checking candidates.”
The confusion between ABC stores and the network became so widespread that it prompted a company-wide initiative: every single ABC Fine Wine & Spirits location would put up large, unmistakable signs declaring, “We Are Not Affiliated With ABC News—We Just Sell Liquor.”
“Our business took a hit for something we didn’t even do,” Nelson continued. “People were calling, asking if we were pushing a political agenda. I had to tell them, ‘Sir, we’re only pushing vodka.’”
The ABC branding debacle wasn’t limited to the liquor world. ABC Warehouse, an appliance and electronics retailer based in the Midwest, also found itself in the crosshairs of political outrage.