Ikea’s no stranger to marketing to gays, but I’m not quite sure what to write about this commercial out of Austria. I don’t know whether to praise its progressiveness for featuring a bisexual character or criticize it for blatantly condoning adultery (not to mention how it perpetuates the stereotype of the horny bisexual). In any case, it’s an awfully peculiar commercial. Maybe Austrians just have very quirky senses of humor???
I came out to a friend about 10 years ago, who brusquely replied by saying, “Are you sure about this lifestyle? Gay people only care about fashion, partying, and sex.” As ignorant as that comment was, I sometimes find it hard to refute this assumption, and unfortunately, gay-targeted advertisements only tend to perpetuate the stereotype.
Last night I performed a highly unscientific study within the pages of the most recent edition of Out. Out of curiosity I decided to categorize all the ads in the magazine by subject matter. The results? Not surprisingly, fashion/cologne ads occupied the most space with 10 total pages dedicated to these products, followed by travel-oriented ads with 8 1/3 pages. Next were ads for HIV medication with a whopping 6 1/3 pages devoted to them. HIV meds were followed closely by alcohol/cigarette ads with 5 total pages. The only other subject with more than a single page of ad space were entertainment ads (movies, music, and television) with a total of 3 pages.
What do the results say about us? They say that we like to travel the world drinking and smoking, listening to music, having unprotected sex, and all the while looking fabulous while doing it.
For the record, the full results of this impromptu study are below. There wasn’t a single page of ad space devoted to automobiles, retirement planning, or household cleaners – the everyday types of products and services that are commonplace in straight-oriented publications. To be fair it’s not Out’s fault, and I don’t blame the advertising community. I’m sure it’s hard to rationalize targeting gays with an ad for Swiffer Sweepers, especially given the lack of market research that exists to justify the ad buy. Rather, I think this mix of advertisements is more a reflection of what we, as a community will respond to. Fashion, partying, and sex. Maybe my friend was right.
Fashion/Cologne: 10 pages
Travel: 8 1/3 pages
HIV Medications: 6 1/3 pages
Alcohol/Cigarettes: 5 pages
Entertainment: 3 pages
Interior Design: 1 page
Insurance: 1 page
Bars/Clubs: 1 page
Lubrication: 1 page
Dating websites: 1 page
Business Conference: 1 page
Catering: 1 page
Deodorant: 1 page
Tires: 1 page
Cold Sore Medication: 1/3 page
Posted in For Marketers, Observations
Tagged fashion, gay stereotype, Out Magazine, partying, sex
