Advertisers Come Out Of The Closet, Openly Courtg Gay Consumers : NPR

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Des ago, mercials left homosexual relatnships implied, a sort of secret . The days, gay-iendly marketg mpaigns don't need to be as vert.

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VW UNVEILS GAY-THEMED AD CAMPAIGN

* commercial gay polo volkswagen *

BOSTON Volkswagen has unveiled s first gay-themed ad mpaign an effort to better target what has long been a key ctomer base for the brand. Photographer John Arsenlt shot the ads, veloped by Boston-based Arnold, the gay-iendly lotns of Provcetown, Mass., Palm Sprgs, Calif., and Los executn picts a Provcetown beach at sunset.

" Of urse, 's not entirely new for mastream brands to participate gay pri paras or advertise LGBT media. But as Gay Pri Month to an end, ads like this drive home the fact the last year has seen a sharp uptick gay reprentatn mastream ad mpaigns. And the new ads, like Chevy's "The New Us, " don't rely on the d msag of earlier gay-oriented ads.

The history of gay people advertisg isn't that long. It was "maly spir brands marketg directly to gay men at the time, " Ferraro says. "You saw imag nng gay magaz or at gay events that featured a lot of shirtls whe guys on beach, or drag queens, and played up on stereotyp of the muny.

ADVERTISERS COME OUT OF THE CLOSET, OPENLY COURTG GAY CONSUMERS

Robert Klara, a staff wrer for Adweek, par to a two-way mirror: The ads ntaed msag that straight dienc would miss, but gay dienc would pick up on. "If you were a member of the gay muny and you saw an ad you would say, 'They're talkg to me, ' " Klara says. "Heterosexuals who saw those two jt assumed they were iends or roommat, whereas the gay muny assumed they were boyiends.

" Klara says d targetg worked at a time when brands would be aaid to adm they were targetg gays and lbians. And Ferraro says there's more to be gaed by marketg to gay people than by not marketg to them.

GAY MOSW MOSW CY GUI

Happy, Gay Feelg.

This is not the first time VW has featured two men a mercial where they *uld* be gay. Way back 1997 they aired a mercial for the Volkswagen Golf and, bee aired durg the “g out” episo of the s Ellen, people wonred if the two guys the r were gay… or jt roommat. Do matter that a gay uple is featured, or that the flock of sheep is lled a herd?

Homosexualy is legal, although a vaguely-word 2013 law prohibs the promotn of ‘non-tradnal’ relatnships. As such, gay travellers are advised agast overt displays of their sexualy. That said, the vast majory of viss rema trouble-ee, even for visors who equent the cy’s ls-than-secret gay bar and club bt hotels MoswThe historic exterr of the Hotel Metropol, facg the ternatnally-celebrated Bolshoi Theatre and close to many of the other ma thgs to do Mosw, is nothg pared to s sumptuo terrs.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* COMMERCIAL GAY POLO VOLKSWAGEN

Advertisers Come Out Of The Closet, Openly Courtg Gay Consumers : NPR .

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