Gay Marketing and Advertising

Gays save the economy....

Proposition 8, the Musical

The incredibly talented Marc Shaiman is at it again with a new musical/video starring Jack Black as Jesus. Take a couple of minutes, it really is quite funny while striking close to home.

I am alive!

My blogging has suffered at the hands of the election, we were laser-focused here at Merge 24/7 on the outcome, my apologies!  I am happy to see change coming to America and am ever hopeful for full equality for my community. I was caught off guard by the stunning defeat of Prop 8 in California. As Gavin Newsome said, "It's a great day for Massachusetts" referring to all of the gay dollars that would be headed east for the chance at love, equality and the comfort of a long-term commitment.
I will say that I hopped online to look at Inn's and B&B's that lie along the state line of NY and Mass., as upstate NY is where most of Philomena's family now lives. Based on something low-key yet infinitely filled with style we are looking at a pretty penny, not including alcohol. No wonder small business owners in CA that had been busy with gay/lesbian nuptials are now crying foul at the unexpected financial blow they have been dealt. The innkeepers in Massachusetts are definitely taking advantage of the situation. Every single site that I looked at had specific tabs for gay and lesbian families headed to the Berkshires, one of them I had visited as a child with my mom, The Red Lion Inn.
We'll keep you posted.....

Crown Royal and Ginger

As I sit here watching CNN with the rest of America and the debacle of this financial disaster I cannot help but pour myself a double. Dismal. There is no deal.

This situation has me so incredibly heavy hearted and FURIOUS!! If I, as a small business owner were to make multiple, egregious mistakes I would be out of business. My failure would not affect the economy as a whole, but you see my point. We are damned if we do, damned if we don't. I don't want to see Americans lose their homes, our investments and the future of our children lost; I also don't want to see these guys walk away with bonuses intact and a blank check written at our expense with no oversight.

Tell me this. Is the religious right so incredibly afraid of equal rights for gays and lesbians that they are willing to support the financial meltdown of our economy?  Most supporters of extreme religious organizations like Focus on the Family or Americans for Truth have a combined income of less than 50K/year with children. They are not the financial benefactors of this Administration or it's policies. Yet, they are willing to go along with the financial fallout that is upon us because they are so incredibly afraid of equality?  Really??  They continue to support all of this because of that? I can't imagine.

On the other hand our business here at Merge is growing. We are negotiating bigger contracts with more clients than ever before. After 5 years of "preaching to the choir" I think we are finally being heard. With times such as these brands have to look somewhere for someone to buy their product and here we are, where we have always been. So, is this the big "Uh-huh I told you so moment"........nope. I am just not that kind of girl.

Democracy, equality and compassion are the American way.

Good night.

Openly gay and cashing in

I was never a fan of Doogie Howser, however I do happen to love the skirt chasing character Barney Stinson played by Neil Patrick Harris (NPH) on How I met your Mother. Outed at the beginning of 2006 by gay blogger Perez Hilton, NPH finally came out of the closet on his own November of '06. What a wild and unexpected ride it has been since then.

Most Hollywoood insiders would tell their clients that coming out of the closet will kill their ability to land major roles and major spokesperson deals. The example of NPH and Ellen show us all that statement is just not true anymore. NPH was signed as a spokesperson for Old Spice (my dad's cologne of choice) and Ellen was just signed as the new face of CoverGirl. This on the heels of Rihanna and Drew Barrymore. Levi's has also signed Perez Hilton to tout their line of jeans on out.com.  With major bucks like these pouring into our "out" celebrities strategic marketing budgets on par with other minorities cannot be far behind.

A real Maverick

We are hearing alot these days about what a maverick McCain is, or might be.  Well, I heartily disagree. I want to write about a real pioneer, a real maverick named Dorothy Talaiferro, better known as Del Martin. Del and her long-time partner Phyllis Lyon were married in San Francisco by Mayor Gavin Newsome on June 16, 2008 after more than 55 years together. Unfortunately for us all, Del passed away in late August.

Del was born in 1921 in San Francisco, graduating as the salutatorian of her class at George Washington High School. She was further educated at Berkeley and San Francisco State, obtaining her D.A. from the Institue for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality. Del and Lyon met one another in 1950 and moved in together on Valentine's Day 1953. Del's list of accomplishments for equality is quite long. Among them, she and Phyllis founded the Daughters of Bilitis, she was the acting President of The Ladder, and joined The National Organization for Women, the first lesbian couple to do so. Del was active in the Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club and served on the White House Conference on Aging. Both women worked to form the Council of Religion and Homosexuality to persuade ministers to accept gays and lesbians into churches. They used their influence to decriminalize homosexuality in the late 60's and early 70's.

These two women are/were truly ground-breaking individuals. In a day when ostracization from one's family and friends was common for homosexuals they broke the mold, moved forward and blazed a trail that women like myself are able to take advantage of. Women like these gave us the right to vote, the right to live our lives to the fullest and embrace ourselves and the ones we love. As a community we are extremely grateful. As an openly gay woman I am deeply indebted for their courage and vision of equality.

God speed Del Martin.

DNC

Like most gay Americans I have been glued to the television in the evening, watching the ongoing events at the Democratic National Convention. Hillary's speech last night touched on many subjects including the full inclusion of gay and lesbian Americans in this country's future history of equality. The friends that we had over for cocktails all leaped to their feet and cheered.

Her reference to the indomitable humanitarian Harriet Tubman reminded us all that many have come before us in this great country's struggle for freedom and equality for every citizen, regardless of the color of their skin, their gender or sexual orientation.

The rolling ticker at the bottom of the screen informed us that more than 6% of the Democratic super-delegates are openly gay or lesbian. I wonder what the financial value of LGBT means to the Democratic fund-raising operation?

Wow!

Even I was stunned this morning to read about greeting card giant Hallmark launching a same-sex line of wedding cards. Hooray! Who would have believed, Hallmark!?!?! My childhood image of the local Hallmark store in my small town in Ohio is one of white-haired women and nuclear scented candles, not the most welcoming of places for gays and lesbians. How encouraging to know that even those bastions of conservatism are recognizing equality.

We always knew we were leaders....

Finally some fast and hard research to prove what most of us have always known.

A long term relationship

The gay and lesbian community is looking for a long term relationship with some of the world's top brands. Will it be yours?� Building loyalty with this over-indexing demographic comes to those that are patient, consistent, respectful and relevant. I am seeing the proof of this everywhere I go.

Local gay bars are owned by mostly gay men that tend to be a tad older. Most of them know the sting of being marginalized or discriminated against for most of their adult lives. Now that brands are beginning to take notice, these individuals and the community that they serve are looking for more than a couple of bucks to sponsor an event. They want marketing materials that are relevant, advertising that is respectful and interaction with a rep from the brand that "gets it".

Sound daunting? It shouldn't. With proper insight your brand could gain unbridled loyalty with a percentage of the population that tends to over-index in consumption, number of nights out and disposable income. In economic times like these every brand manager needs to start treating LGBT like a business. When you do, it will perform like one.

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?