Alan Jones's radio show loses hundreds of advertisers since Jacinda Ardern storm

Alan Jones’s 2GB breakfast show has lost hundreds of advertisers since he suggested Scott Morrison shove a sock down the throat of Jacinda Ardern, according to activist groups.

Macquarie Media, recently taken over by Nine Entertainment, says Jones is “Australia’s most popular talkback presenter”, but he’s also its most polarising.

Despite Jones’s apology to Ardern, the advertisers which withdrew from his show in the wake of the comments have not returned.

Macquarie stablemate, the Sydney Morning Herald, has reported Jones’s show has lost half its advertising revenue since the Ardern storm.

Guardian Australia can reveal the number of advertising spots on Jones’s show was down by 120 last week, or 24 missing spots each morning, compared to the week before the Ardern comments, according to broadcast media monitoring service Aircheck.

The data shows that Chemist Warehouse went from 22 spots in the week before the Ardern comments to none last week. The story is the same for many more big advertisers including the Commonwealth Bank, Specsavers, Bing Lee, Seven West Media and Opera Australia.

Jones has previously reacted furiously to the advertiser withdrawal, calling on one brand, Coles, to “get your own value system in order, before you start passing judgment on other people”.

He also told his listeners to give Coles supermarkets and their petrol stations “a very wide berth”.

“This is a two-way street,” he said. “We can both play the same game. It might be time I entered the ring and started playing that game. And good luck to you by the time I’m finished.”

The bigger advertisers who have remained loyal or increased their spend include Harvey Norman and the NSW Minerals Council. Many of the spots have been taken up by house ads from Nine or Macquarie or by smaller advertisers on special deals.

According to anti-Jones activist group Mad Fucking Witches on Facebook, 277 brands have withdrawn from Jones and not advertised for 21 days after their members contacted advertisers whose ads appear on Jones’s breakfast show in Sydney and Brisbane. Another activist group on Twitter, Sleeping Giants, put the total number of withdrawn brands at 312.

The Macquarie Media chairman, Russell Tate, wrote to advertisers promising a “full review” of Jones’s program in September but the results have not been made public.

“This incident has brought into sharp focus the need for all Macquarie Media broadcasters to ensure that the debate they bring to the microphone and the words they use are, at all times, respectful and reflect the standards expected today by our listeners, our clients, and the wider community,” Tate said.

Nine has installed a new general manager for its radio division, the former Nine sport executive Tom Malone, and on Monday Greg Byrne, Sky News’ former programmer, joined the company as the executive producer of the talk shows, including Jones’s.

Jones broadcast from the Bourke bowling club on Monday and a Dubbo farmers’ forum on Tuesday, as part of his “drought tour” of outback New South Wales.

The 78-year-old is campaigning for “greater support for rural Australians” and perhaps repairing his image along the way.

“Canberra have announced drought packages which bear little relationship to the problems faced by farmers and small business in the bush,” Jones said of his tour. “Their voice isn’t being heard. We are going to the coal face to give them a voice. Canberra can only ignore that voice at significant political risk.”

Jones’s road trip includes a two-night special edition of Jones & Credlin: The Big Dry on Sky News on Tuesday and Wednesday live from Dubbo RSL and Dubbo Harvey Norman, as part of the Big Drought Appeal.

Nine declined to comment.