The Dm | World’s Bt Ads Ever #74: Ikea Airs First Commercial Featurg Openly Gay Couple

Contents:

• IKEA’S “DG ROOM” FEATUR FIRST OPENLY GAY COUPLE COMMERCIAL
• WORLD’S BT ADS EVER #74: IKEA AIRS FIRST MERCIAL FEATURG OPENLY GAY UPLE
• IKEA’S INIC “DG ROOM”: THE FIRST MERCIAL TO SHOW A GAY UPLE
• THIS 1994 IKEA AD WAS TV'S FIRST-EVER AD WH A GAY COUPLE
• HOW IKEA MA HISTORY 1994 WH THE FIRST GAY COUPLE AN AD
• 20 YEARS BEFORE IT WAS COOL TO CAST GAY COUPL, IKEA MA THIS PNEERG AD
• THIS AD IS BEG LLED THE “GAYT COMMERCIAL OF 2021”
• 1994: IKEA FEATUR OPENLY GAY UPLE MERCIAL CREATED BY DTSCH
• TV COMMERCIAL FEATURG GAY COUPLE CREAT A MADISON AVENUE UPROAR
• THIS WAS THE FIRST US MASTREAM TELEVISN MERCIAL FEATURG A GAY UPLE
• IKEA FURNISH FODR FOR BATE ON GAY LIFE COMMERCIAL MESSAGE
• IKEA BRGS GAY UPL OUT OF MERCIAL CLOSET
• THE TOP 10 GAY-THEMED COMMERCIALS THAT SHOULD BE CELEBRATED
• THIS IKEA AD WAS THE FIRST MASTREAM TV COMMERCIAL TO FEATURE GAY PEOPLE
• THE MEDIA BUSINESS: ADVERTISING -- ADDENDA; IKEA ADS FEATURE GAY CTOMERS

IKEA’S “DG ROOM” FEATUR FIRST OPENLY GAY COUPLE COMMERCIAL

Dtsch’s 1994 ad “Dg Room” for Ikea marked a pivotal moment advertisg as the spot shar TV’s first gay uple. And this go back to 1994, well before beg openly gay was monplace.

It was an IKEA mercial that Dtsch produced, showsg the first openly gay uple, buyg furnure.

Lookg back, the 1990’s emerged as a of niche marketg, and a number of advertisers targeted gays, as surveys showed they often enjoyed a higher disposable hoehold e. The Dtsch-produced spot is wily regard as the first ad the US to feature an openly gay s release, ‘Dg Room Table’ ma headl around the globe, havg been released s before gay marriage beme legalized the US. Whereas many prev ads hted at homosexual them, the Ikea spot leav no room for doubt that the men featured are partners, th markg a pivotal moment the ad the two men, who we learn have been together for three years, fish each other’s sentenc.

WORLD’S BT ADS EVER #74: IKEA AIRS FIRST MERCIAL FEATURG OPENLY GAY UPLE

And this go back to 1994, well before beg openly gay was monplace, ” Dtsch NY chief executive Val DiFebo famoly said about the mercial.

In 1994, IKEA aired their TV ad “Dg Room” and beme the first brand to release a mastream mercial featurg a gay uple. Fast forward to 2022, and gay upl featured advertisg no longer seem radil. It was hard to be openly gay, which n be seen by the sheer amount of backlash that IKEA faced bee of this advertisement.

IKEA’S INIC “DG ROOM”: THE FIRST MERCIAL TO SHOW A GAY UPLE

Still, the cultural difference between Swen and the US uld be the reason behd IKEA’s “long history of cludg gay and transgenr them s advertisg”. What’s groundbreakg and unique about this ad is that portrayed a gay uple a posive light durg a tumultuo time perd.

THIS 1994 IKEA AD WAS TV'S FIRST-EVER AD WH A GAY COUPLE

Ellen Carton, executive director of the New York chapter of GLAAD, said the ad showed “an aspect of gay life that people never see: our daily liv. Instead of showg gays and lbians marchg at gay rights ralli or sufferg om AIDS, the IKEA ad humaniz . For example, Unilever’s “Go Gay” Axe mercial that me out 3 years after IKEA’s.

Never one to shy away om a sndal, ntroversy or unorthodox marketg scheme, 1994, Ikea aired a mercial featurg two men shoppg for a dg room table, the first major natnal TV ad to portray a gay uple, well, ever. Tim article, Fred Danzig, then-edor of Advertisg Age said, "It is one small step for Madison Avenue, but is one giant leap for the gay muny. Tim that the ad showed "an aspect of gay life that people never see: our daily liv.

Instead of showg gays and lbians marchg at gay rights ralli or sufferg om AIDS, the Ikea ad humaniz .

HOW IKEA MA HISTORY 1994 WH THE FIRST GAY COUPLE AN AD

S., Ikea's pro-gay stance is still fflg feathers elsewhere; was only a uple of years ago that Ikea's pro-gay ads ced wrath Italy, after all. · Ikea's Groundbreakg 1994 Commercial [Buzz Feed]· TV Commercial Featurg Gay Couple Creat a Madison Avenue Uproar [L.

20 YEARS BEFORE IT WAS COOL TO CAST GAY COUPL, IKEA MA THIS PNEERG AD

On this new episo of our Tagle podst, we close out Pri Month wh a look back at the 1994 Ikea mercial that was the first mastream ad ever to feature a gay uple. The mi-wave of brands stg gay upl TV ads this year ntu to rise, wh the lik of Honey Maid, Cheers and DirecTV all divg .

But Ikea was the first marketer to feature a gay uple a mastream mercial. A new ad om CarGus is beg lled "the gayt mercial of 2021"Photo: Screenshot. An ad for the CarGus webse is beg lled “the gayt mercial of 2021” onle and ’s not hard to see why.

And this go back to the 1994, well before beg openly gay was monplace. One of my favore marketg moments of all time was so simple, yet so ntroversial and was an IKEA mercial that Dtsch produced, showsg the first openly gay uple, buyg furnure. A groundbreakg televisn mercial that picts two gay men buyg furnure is stirrg passnate reactns om tractors and supporters--and g the kd of motn seldom seen on Madison week, furnure retailer Ikea began airg an ad several East Coast markets that shows two clearly intifiable gay men shoppg for a dg room table at an Ikea store.

THIS AD IS BEG LLED THE “GAYT COMMERCIAL OF 2021”

It is the first time gays have been openly portrayed a mastream TV spot.

No bomb was issue is the homosexual relatnship between the two men the Ikea ad, who talk about how buyg the dg room table together shows their mment to each other. If be clear to other major marketers that Ikea’s bs is not harmed--and perhaps even helped--by the ad, uld profoundly affect the way major advertisers speak to gays and lbians. “It is one small step for Madison Avenue, but is one giant leap for the gay muny, ” said Fred Danzig, edor of the tra magaze Advertisg Age.

1994: IKEA FEATUR OPENLY GAY UPLE MERCIAL CREATED BY DTSCH

”Danzig expects that advertisers om airl to fancial servic may eventually follow Ikea’s lead and feature intifiable gays TV ad mpaigns. Until now, only a handful of major advertisers have acknowledged the gay liftyle ads--but almost exclively prt mpaigns, where the impact is ually far more like Beton, Banana Republic and Calv Kle have all ed gay imagery ads placed mastream publitns. At the same time, more than a dozen major advertisers--cludg Amerin Exprs and Apple Computer--have gay-targeted ads nng popular gay and lbian Ikea ad picts “an aspect of gay life that people never see: our daily liv, ” said Ellen Carton, executive director of the New York chapter of the Gay and Lbian Alliance Agast Defamatn.

TV COMMERCIAL FEATURG GAY COUPLE CREAT A MADISON AVENUE UPROAR

Instead of showg gays and lbians marchg at gay rights ralli or sufferg om AIDS, the Ikea ad “humaniz , ” she said. “Openly promotg homosexualy will upset Ameri’s mastream and st the pany bs, ” said Robert Knight, director of cultural studi at the Fay Rearch Council, a nservative, Washgton-based thk tank.

”Advertisers quietly fear that by tryg to appeal to gays and lbians so publicly, they may antagonize their re markets. Ikea opened s first Wt Coast store jt three years as the 1990s emerge as the of niche marketg, a growg number of advertisers are expected to creasgly target gays, who, most surveys show, often enjoy higher disposable hoehold e levels than many other nsumer groups.

THIS WAS THE FIRST US MASTREAM TELEVISN MERCIAL FEATURG A GAY UPLE

“But a number of other gay-oriented ads will soon h the airwav, and there may very well be a backlash om the gay muny self. ” Ined, there are some gays who serly qutn the motiv behd the mercial. “It smacks of tokenism, ” said Jeff Yarbrough, edor--chief of the Advote, a natnal gay and lbian magaze.

”The pany has no tailed rporate policy on gays and lbians--nor for that matter do know how many of s ctomers are gay, said East Coast marketg chief Connolly. ” Ikea is also airg other spots, cludg one featurg a divorced woman and another wh a retired ad wh the two gay men “uld st some ctomers, ” Connolly said. At issue is the homosexual relatnship between the two men the Ikea ad, who talk about how buyg the dg room table together shows their mment to each other.

If be clear to other major marketers that Ikea's bs is not harmed–and perhaps even helped–by the ad, uld profoundly affect the way major advertisers speak to gays and lbians.

IKEA FURNISH FODR FOR BATE ON GAY LIFE COMMERCIAL MESSAGE

Paleoanthropologist Lee Berger and his team have disvered a ve Ai riddled wh the bon of an extct speci, Homo naledi, a small hom ape that lived 250, 000 years… READ THE REST.

A gay uple posed the Mosw store and entered the petn. When IKEA announced that they were gog to 'celebrate' IDAHOT (Internatnal Day Agast Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia) 2019, the employee "Tomasz K" om their Kraków store replied wh homophobic ments on the tra.

IKEA BRGS GAY UPL OUT OF MERCIAL CLOSET

He ed quot om the Old Ttament about ath and blood the ntext of what fate should meet homosexual people.

For IDAHOT (Internatnal Day Agast Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia) 2020, IKEA released a betiful clip.

It pch directly to remarryg upl, to sgle parents (men as well as women), and to gay upl, who feature promently s advertisg.

THE TOP 10 GAY-THEMED COMMERCIALS THAT SHOULD BE CELEBRATED

In 1994 IKEA ran a mercial wily thought to be the first mercial featurg a homosexual uple, even though Amev and Poliken aired before. " At the end, one says, "We've got another leaf wag for when we REALLY start gettg along" -- perhaps implyg marriage or havg was the first time an advertiser ankly alt wh a gay relatnship the US.

It was not “gay vague” as many ads before or after this one were: the two men verbally clared to be each other’s partner.

Many wrongly assumed the mercial was meant to target gay buyers, but was part of a larger mpaign about "non-tradnal" fai, cludg a mixed race uple and a sgle mom wh an adopted child.

THIS IKEA AD WAS THE FIRST MASTREAM TV COMMERCIAL TO FEATURE GAY PEOPLE

The mercial's director told the Canadian Broadstg Corporatn that was not important to be the first pany to show a gay uple together and "Actually I was surprised when we first started lookg at this, that no one had done before".

Nohels, the mercial was well-liked by the gay muny. The gay stereotype of beg fashn-oriented and tastemaker was.

THE MEDIA BUSINESS: ADVERTISING -- ADDENDA; IKEA ADS FEATURE GAY CTOMERS

leveraged the ads, givg a sort of "Gay Hoekeepg Seal of Approval" for IKEA. One of the two actors also is openly gay, though he said that was not known when he was st for the Room, US 2006. In 2006 the pany returned to s (gay) roots the US wh a new spot - lled Livg Room - cludg another gay pair, this time wh a child.

However, no ads appeared gay media - a place the pany has never advertised . "It was sort of a no-braer, gays are part of the world we live .