Watch it! Part 2

Part 1 discussed the unsatisfactory ways in which television commercials deal with homosexuality. But like everyone, advertising executives too learn from their mistakes and after about 15 - 20 years of trial and error, some pretty good work can be found.

But first, we should bear in mind that just by looking at the commercials, we can't quite tell how they were used. It is possible that some of these ads were only used in narrowcast advertising directed at the gay market. They might have been thought too "gay" for the general market. 

Others, however, could only have been meant for the general market, and yet they successfully incorporated the gay angle without having to pander to homophobia.

The first example here is for Renault Clio. It is conceptually safe since there is no reference at all to heterosexuality. It thus avoids having to address the difference; there's no opportunity to be negative about it. But you don't know that there's a gay element until the very end, when it comes as a surprise.

There are some dangers with this approach if this ad is used a for general campaign. The Clio model could become gay-identified, restricting its appeal to non-gay buyers.

Hyundai very cleverly gets around this problem by having two cars driving on the road.

The wife sees her husband ahead and as she pulls alongside, she reclines the passenger seat so that her toyboy slips from view. The most striking feature about it is that hetero- and homosexuality are presented as equivalent. It seems quite an effective ad, not only in the way it highlights the low recline of the seat, but also adds a certain fun factor to the brand, though only the metrics after the ad has run can give a conclusive answer to how it is received.

The next commercial is from Brazil. It's a little bit suspect because it advertises a Portuguese-language newspaper, yet it has subtitles, voice-over and final supers in English. Perhaps someone modified it to be more comprehensible to YouTube's US audience. I tried to find another, perhaps more original-looking, version but didn't succeed.

This ad is clearly meant for a general campaign, since its main proposition is that the newspaper Folha da Sao Paulo informs. It uses gayness in order to highlight a need that the product fills.

Absolut Cut uses gayness in another way -- as a reason for much beating around the bush.

It's tagline -- "Cut the crap" -- invokes impatience with poor substitutes, and of course refers to the product's name as well. As you would have noticed, like the Hyundai ad, this one too assumes an equivalency between hetero- and homosexuality.

Sometimes, of course, gayness is something that cries for honest discussion and Vodafone uses such a moment to sell its mobile telephony plan.

The next cellphone ad, from Korea, only leaves you puzzled. It seems to suggest that with the product, Sky, you see and hear only what you want to see and hear, so a wrestling match becomes a lot more erotic. While it helps identify the phone with gay consumers, I can't see how it can be used for general advertising without causing much scratching of heads.

I don't think it's a good ad, but its' just an example of how the gay angle is used affirmatively.

In contrast, this next commercial, from Sweden, is a gem. It suggests homosexual interest in the other man's penis....

It has a "Gotcha!" quality, but the most notable thing is that even as it suggests homosexual interest through most of its 30 seconds, it never does so negatively.

Abercrombie and Fitch is mostly known for its clothes, but this TV commercial seeks to inject a set of values into the brand: 

There are two features worthy of note. The first of course, is the very homo-erotic visuals. The second is the multi-layered meaning of the voice-over. The ad has a very gay sensibility without being explicitly gay.

The next two ads are the exact opposite of Abercrombie and Fitch's, they being very direct about the point they wish to make.

Promoting acceptance is the aim of MTV's ad:

Then the Brazilian Ministry of Health puts our government to shame with this safe sex TV commercial. It promotes condom use through encouraging self-respect -- a well-known factor. It does not flinch from the recognition that self-respect for gay men means that families and society must be accepting of gay people.

In contrast, the Singapore government's stand is that it cannot openly promote safe sex for gay men because that would mean promoting homosexuality, which is still a crime.

The last two ads in this collection are characterised by their very listenable soundtracks:

With an opening line like "Sometimes, it's hard to be a woman," the viewer is first led to think it is a typical husband-wife couple in the house, but soon realises that the domestic situation shown is that of a gay couple. Again, it uses the hetero/homo equivalency principle, but its impact is essentially emotional, it being filled with warmth and love. 

But what has that got to do with a stout beer? Well, as it says, not everything in a black-and-white ad has to make sense, suggesting that not everything in this world that's black and white makes sense either. Then you recall that Guinness' label is black and white too, but your appreciation of the beverage doesn't have to be rational. It's a good ad in the way it works on many levels. 

This next one deliberately mimics a cheap spaghetti Western:

At first, you're not sure what to make of it, but it grows on you. It's funny, corny, yet romantic, especially with Aerosmith's I don't want to miss a thing. You can't help but feel happy for the two guys, however absurd the premise is.

It's also clever: Did you notice the reference to "forbidden love"? In a way, margarine is a forbidden love too, an kind of imposter to the real thing - butter.

Above all, the ad has a very seductive quality. You find yourself wanting to watch it again, which for a TV commercial, is a supreme achievement.

© Yawning Bread 

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