VH1 suffers advertiser walk-outs after sneaking Sorority Sisters onto air

VH1's series, Sorority Sisters - a reality series about black sororities in the US - was snuck onto the air with little fanfare, suggesting that even the network knew in its heart that it had got it terribly wrong, but couldn't quite bring itself to cancel the whole project.

Maybe it should have done, because the reward for its horrible portrayal of black Americans is costing it heavily: advertisers are abandoning the show like it's rancid eggnog:

A spokeswoman for Hallmark confirmed that the decision was made in response to public opposition to the show. The company, Linda Odell said in an e-mail, will not advertise during the show “because of consumer reaction to the program.”

Update: 3:50 p.m.: Several other advertisers including Honda, Crayola, and JBL, a subsidiary of Harman International, have also said they are pulling their ads from the show. State Farm has responded to inquiries saying that they do not air commercials during Sorority Sisters.

And it's not just the show, either. Carmex is walking from the whole channel as a result:

.@rolandsmartin Yes. We'll be pulling our ads from VH1 until the program is pulled in order to join our voice with many of our customers.

— Carmex (@Carmex) December 16, 2014