----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2002 12:11 PM
Subject: Gay-Coded Subaru Ads Return to Mainstream
COMMERCIAL CLOSET NEWSLETTER - April 23,
2002
Bringing Social Conscience to Advertising Through Education.
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LATEST
ON COMMERCIALCLOSET.ORG
1. FEATURED ADS: Honda (U.S.), Microsoft Office
(India), Audi (Germany.), Miller Light (U.S.)
2. POLL: Does a man wearing
women's clothes in a commercial seem to imply that he's gay?
(PREVIOUS POLL
RESULTS: What profession are Commercial Closet's visitors? SEE BELOW)
3.
REPORT: Gay-Coded Subaru Ads Return to Mainstream
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- Book gay hotels, Find travel buddies, Research your
holiday destination
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1.
NEW ADS
- Honda "Facepaint" (Rubin Postaer & Associates)
Toying
with the peculiar sports fan habit of face painting, Honda tosses in a few men
who don't fit the idea.
http://www.commercialcloset.org/cgi-bin/iowa/portrayals.html?record=850- Microsoft Office "Charlie"
Hiding from a woman's boyfriend, a
man transforms into female identity with the help of software, in India ad
http://www.commercialcloset.org/cgi-bin/iowa/portrayals.html?record=700- Audi "Changing Religion" (Saatchi & Saatchi)
A man picks up
a sexy motorcycle rider in this gay vague German commercial for
Audi.
http://www.commercialcloset.org/cgi-bin/iowa/portrayals.html?record=828- Miller Light "Twist One Off" (Ogilvy & Mather)
Miller,
oldest brand in the gay market anywhere, pushes the envelope toward sexiness
with this same-sex couple ad.
http://www.commercialcloset.org/cgi-bin/iowa/portrayals.html?record=856***************************************************************************************************************************
2.
POLL
Does a man wearing women's clothes in a commercial seem to imply
that he's gay?
-Yes
-No
-Maybe
PREVIOUS POLL: Commercial Closet
wants to know a little about its visitors. Are
you a/an:
-Ad/mktg. agency
professional - 5.1%
-Corporate ad/mktg. dept. - 3.2%
-Media journalist -
4.7%
-Individual - 50%
-Student - 36.9%
1246 TOTAL (Feb. 25-Mar.
25)
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3.
REPORT
Gay-Coded Subaru Ads Return to Mainstream
By Michael
Wilke
April 18, 2002
When a gay-targeted campaign from Subaru using
light-hearted license plates began appearing in general outdoor advertising, the
news media raced to understand the plates' seemingly "coded" messages, including
"XENA-LVR," "P-TOWN" and "CAMP OUT."
While few at Subaru thought of their
campaign as secret coding, the idea has now caught on with a more deliberate,
tongue-in-cheek reprise. The veteran LGBT marketer introduces a new effort this
month that
offers a play on classic movie
lines.
Taking a cue from Norma Desmond and "Sunset Boulevard," one new ad
carries the headline, "I'm ready
for my closeup" -- accompanied by a close view
of the hood of a Subaru WRX. A forthcoming example references Faye Dunaway in
"Mommy Dearest," with the line, "Put a window where it ought to be," meaning
a sunroof.
"The gay community has a
sense of ownership of literature and films," explains John Nash, who has been
the creative director for Subaru's gay ads since the beginning, first for the
defunct Mulryan/Nash Advertising, and now for Moon City Productions. "We thought
that it would be fun to casually and thoughtfully align movie lines with the
cars."
The campaign will run in gay titles as well as Movieline magazine,
which reaches over 500,000 readers and brings the gay-targeted ads back into
mainstream media. Subaru is also sponsoring postcard racks and medium-sized gay
film festivals in Austin, Provincetown, Seattle and Washington
DC.While companies regularly run mainstream ads
in gay media, they rarely run gay-targeted ads in the mainstream, since the
expense is greater and there's risk of turning off other consumers. Little
research exists on general audiences respond to gay-targeted
messages.
Playful Coding Appreciated By
Consumers, and Accepted by Subaru.COLUMN CONTINUED AT WEBSITE
http://www.commercialcloset.org/cgi-bin/iowa/index.html?page=column*******************************************************************************************
COMMERCIAL CLOSET MISSION STATEMENT
Advertising can change more
than just brand preferences, it can change how we think about each other.
Commercial Closet seeks to bring dignity to how the lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender community is represented in the most powerful medium of our time.
The project is a unique, non-profit education and journalism organization that
proactively reaches out to marketers, ad agencies, the media and world-at-large
to educate about portrayals of the gay community in mainstream advertising
worldwide, 800-plus ad collection, a traveling video lecture and
syndicated ad column. Exec. Director mike.wilke@commercialcloset.org********************************************************************************************
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