Gay Marketing and Advertising

What are they thinking??

Snickers/Mars what can I say? For the second time around the brains behind the brand have royally offended many in the gay/lesbian community with the commercial starring Mr. T. You can see for yourself right here. The 30 second spot has been pulled after a large amount of pressure from HRC (The Human Rights Campaign) and the blogosphere.

Given the fallout around the other Snicker's commercial during Super Bowl you would think they might have been a little more thorough in their research before going to market. We blogged about this commercial as well. There seems to have been little insight into one of the wealthiest and most loyal demos out there on the part of the brand.

The gay and lesbian community is able to laugh at itself, just not so much when the joke condones physical violence against one of their own. Where is the social responsibility?

Keeping up with the latest and greatest

 Read the latest Harris Interactive study about how important the latest styles and trends are to gay and lesbian consumers.

718 Billion!

That's right, that is the discretionary value in 2008 for LGBT. 718 billion dollars just waiting to be spent on your product. Now that number is right behind african-american and hispanic, even though their numbers are much higher in population density. Reaching gay/lesbian consumers is kind of like "shooting fish in a barrel" since most of them are located in major metropolitan areas. With such a severe downturn in the economy you would think that brand managers would be seeking out this demo to help prop up their sales.

As belts grow tighter and tighter across the country we might actually see real marketing dollars begin to trickle into our market place. Right now, this market play could be one of the best tips going....

Gay Aesthetics

Not only are gays the earliest of early adopters, they never disappoint when it comes to looking good! Our good friend Cooper Smith, wizard of PR, was in need of a new home computer. The current version was an old Dell desktop with that big box located on the floor, wires everywhere, it just looked hideous.

After much consideration a decision was made to purchase an iMac, basically because it looks a heck of alot better.  Never mind that it was three times the cost and they had to learn how to "speak" Mac since they had been PC based their whole adult lives.

Several months later Cooper is happy to report that they are thrilled with their new purchase...not only does it look great, it has made most of their friends green with envy.

Early Adopter

Being the first to market comes with it's own set of problems. As an owner of the Smartcar I can tell you that I cannot go anywhere without people wanting to stop and talk. and talk. and talk. and talk. My partner Philomena now refuses to go gas the little thing up! I am happy to share the story about the 40+mpg that we are currently getting and how an 8 gallon tank is lasting about 3 weeks, I am just not so happy to have this conversation in the Texas summer heat! If it is attention that you seek, buy yourself a smartcar.

Same goes for the new iPhone 3G. I decided to do something different and get the white model....all my past phones had been black. WRONG idea! Do you know how white sticks out? This is the basic conversation that we are having with the Smart! As I sat and complained to some friends of mine about the inconvenience of this they smiled and let me know....I asked for it!

South Carolina does not want your money

We in the American LGBT marketing industry congratulate AMRO on their choice to promote US destinations to a European audience. Please know that the majority of Americans are welcoming and inclusive-minded, regardless of where (or with whom) we live.

A bit of uncompensated professional counsel for our agency friends abroad: Don't capitulate to Right Wing saber rattling. So-called "family values" organizations have never won a fight with American brands marketing to LGBT consumers. Ever. There's no need to forfeit this one.

In the future, we might simply suggest focusing on a single SC city -- Charleston, for instance. It's more consistent with the rest of your campaign anyway.

Many metropolitan areas in the deep south are very welcoming of gay/lesbian individuals, this is the reason we call Dallas home.

20 years in the making

Kathy Cox and Kim Whelan live in a really nice house in Wisconsin. They have been together for more than 20 years and plan to travel to California to wed, although they might come home to a warrant for their arrest. You can view the video here.

That seems a pretty steep price to pay for love! I've had some past relationships that have cost me a dime or two, but isn't this going a bit far?  What interests me as well is the fact that gay women do not earn as much as their male counterparts, traditionally. When you view that video do you see what I see? Gleaming stainless steel appliances, beautiful cherrywood cabinetry, well educated and well dressed. I am sure that their contractor just loved them both!

Cox and Whelan made the statement, "Pioneers get the arrows and settlers get the land. We're willing to take some arrows." You go girls.

Turning over a new Leaf

My neighbors, the Graggs, live down the street and love hockey, the Stars in particular. I admit that I love watching the game in person but I do tend to lose interest in the tube version. Not anymore, especially if the Maple Leafs are playing. You might just find me wearing a jersey with a leaf on the front!

For the first time ever, the National Hockey League and the Toronto Maple Leafs are allowing the use of their logos and uniforms in a gay themed film. Fantastic! In one of the most chauvinistic of all sports we find  individuals making a choice to focus on the reality of the story rather than take the road of fear and non-participation. First McDonald's, now the NHL, this has been a heady couple of days around here. The title of the movie is Breakfast with Scot.

Boycott McDonald's

That's right, and those words did not come from me! Believe it or not, the American Family Association is calling for a boycott of McDonald's due to their small donation to the NGLCC.  Ronald McDonald can now join the ranks of P&G, Kraft, Ford, Coors and just about every other Fortune 500 company that you can think of that Donald Wildmon has focused his insanity upon.

I am really kidding about the headline above, even though I shy away from red meat most of the time. After the kind of 4th we had how can one quarter pounder with cheese do any more damage?

Be sure to read the comments at the bottom of the page on the link!

The Downturn

Well, the New York Times announced that Warren Buffet has made it official....we are in an economic downturn, a recession. So where should one turn to boost the bottom line? LGBT. Every bit of research confirms this, the confusing part in it all is the lack of follow-thru on the corporate side. If you are a brand manager looking for ways to hold your market would you not be willing to look at the most lucrative one around? If not, why?