LGBTQ in Advertising - A Brief History of Inclusion in Brand Marketing

2009: Absolut saluted 40 years of Gay Pride marches with a rainbow bottle.

If it’s not already apparent from the onslaught of rainbow-themed merchandise on display at malls across America, June is Gay Pride month. And while the overcommercialization of holidays tends to insight naysayers, critics, and purists, it’s hard to see this turn of events as anything but a win for both the LGBTQ community and humanity as a whole. In the not too distant past, it would have been unthinkable that retailers, including Macy’s, Target, and even gun-loving, music-lyric censoring Walmart would be stocking their shelves with LGBTQ pride merch. So as we near the 50th anniversary of Stonewall— it’s June 28th— this small San Francisco ad agency would like to add to the marketing fanfare with a look at the evolution of LGBTQ inclusion in advertising.

Ellen

The backlash that ensued after Ellen Degeneres outed herself on her self titled 1997 sitcom, which aired on ABC, is a good place to start. Advertisers including Chrysler and JC Penny boycotted the episode, and Wendy’s stopped advertising altogether. In the months that followed, religious groups began picketing the studio. There were death threats, bomb scares and endless hate mail.  The network responded by backing off on promoting the show and even aired disclaimers before every episode suggesting there may be themes that are “inappropriate for children.” Eventually, the show was canceled.

And while homophobia may have been socially acceptable in the nineties, not every CMO was complicit in tolerating it.  

Ikea

In 1994 a small, but rapidly expanding Swedish furniture company called IKEA  became the very first company to feature a gay couple in a mainstream ad.  Ikea ran the ad after  10 p.m. in three markets:  New York, Philadelphia as well as Washington, D.C.  It did this intentionally so as not to conflict with "family hour" programming. But this concession did little to silence the objections of the American Family Association and its leaders who called for boycotts of Ikea stores. The retailer, however, continued to air the ad, which was part of a lifestyle campaign featuring different types of consumers, including a divorced mom, adopting parents, and an empty nester couple.  (Keep this in mind the next time you try to assemble one of their particle board desks only to discover half the screws you need to hold it together are missing. It will keep your frustrations in check.)

Volkswagen

Other retailers took a softer approach: In 1997 Volkswagen aired its  “Sunny Afternoon” spot (also called Da Da Da)  which featured two young guys rescuing a piece of furniture discarded on the street in their VW Golf.  Incidentally, the spot debuted on the Ellen coming out episode. But unlike the Ikea spot, the relationship between these two men was intentionally left vague. Were they friends, roommates or boyfriends?  It allowed for multiple interpretations meant to cushion against criticism. The spot was perhaps the first in a category known hereafter as “gay-vague.”

A tongue in cheek ad for Ambassador Scotch that passes judgement on some old-school thinking.

John Hancock Financial Services

In 2000 John Hancock Financial Services aired a spot where two Caucasian women are in line at a crowded airport immigration line, holding an infant girl with Asian features. As they're waiting, they coo over the sleeping baby.  One might infer from the dialogue that the two women are a couple on their way home with their newly adopted daughter. The tagline: "Insurance for the unexpected. Investments for opportunities. John Hancock."  Then on the cutaway with only audio, one woman says to the other, "You're going to make a great mom." Her partner replies, "So are you."  The company, of course, caught flack for the ad. And while they didn’t pull it, they did send it back to the editing room, pulled out the cutaway dialogue from the end and ran a re-released, “gay vague” version. (We scoured the internet to find a link to this one but came up empty. If any knows finds send us the URL so we can post)

Heinz

Fast forward another eight years and America was still struggling to come to terms with LBGTQ PDA. The Heinz company went for it anyway releasing a commercial for Deli Mayo. It opened on a typical morning scene as a family gets ready to start their day. There’s the obligatory kiss as dad goes off to work. Nothing amiss here, except that this man’s spouse is also a man. A week after its airing, Heinz caved to pressure after receiving hundreds of complaints from consumers suggesting it was “offensive” and ‘inappropirate to see two men kissing.”

Gillette

Even today, any of these ads might still cause a stir in some communities.  The difference: Today advertisers are much more likely to stay the course because the backlash from the other side for caving to social pressure will be that much greater. That said: there’s still plenty of room for companies to push the envelope and show consumers what America really looks like. Last month, Gillette did just that, running a documentary style commercial featuring a father teaching his transgender son how to shave. Simple idea. Well executed. Wish we’d thought of it.

Being an ad man or ad woman may not be as noble a profession as, say, a teacher, a social worker, or a mental health counselor. But it’s worth remembering that a good advertising campaign can do more than just sell widgets. We can use our craft to change the way people see the world, shape public opinion, and focus on the greater good.

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The Small Agency Blog is produced by Division of Labor; a top San Francisco ad agency and digital marketing firm that’s been named Small Agency of the Year twice by Ad Age. The award-winning creative shop services clients on a retainer or project basis. And also offers brand consulting services and hourly engagements for startups and smaller brands. Click here for a free consultation.

Five Things Every Start-Up Marketing Campaign Must Do (But Often Don't)

Marketing blog posts usually talk about the importance of data, analytics, measurement and all the logical, basics that young MBAs focus on for a successful marketing campaign. But targeting, tracking, optimizing and measuring aren’t the differentiators. They’re the basic nuts and bolts of a marketing campaign that everyone should be doing. What most people, amazingly, ignore is the message.

What are you gonna do to make people pay attention? Why should anyone give a crap? How are you gonna make people have an emotional connection to your brand or product? If your campaign doesn’t have a strong point of view that makes people feel something, you’ll have to spend exponentially more money forcing a bland message down people’s throats. So use the data and analytics and optimize the hell out of your campaign. But make sure you do something that can’t be ignored. A few thoughts on how to go about that.

1. If You’re Not Offending Someone, You’re Boring Everyone

Muslims, Jews, Catholics, African Americans, Asians, Christians, Latinos, white people, homosexuals, heterosexuals, PETA, the elderly, conservatives, the NRA, the NAACP, smelly hippies, trailer-trash, the Amish, private militias, people with chronic foot odor—anyone on this list might be offended if they’re mentioned in an ad. Yet someone left off this list may be offended if they were omitted. Put a kid in a wheelchair in your ad and you’re pandering. Don’t show a kid in a wheelchair and you’re ignoring the handicapped. Use the word handicapped and you’re an insensitive boob. Use the term challenged and you’re insulting. That’s the way it is. If you have a point of view, and you get a lot of attention, you’re gonna offend someone.

We once did a radio commercial for a power company in Chicago about proper insulation to stay warm. And we made some joke about how heavy wool sweaters are itchy. Seemed innocuous enough. Until our client received a terse letter from the Wool Council suggesting our ad was misleading and offensive as only poor quality wool is itchy. They asked that we stop running it and blah blah blah. But if our radio commercial motivated a wool lobbyist to write a letter, I’ll tally that as a win for my client. It’s proof that our message is getting noticed. So don’t be so bland that no one even notices you. Also, when the wool lobbyist complains, post their comments proudly on your social media feed.

2.  Knock Off a Few Liquor Stores While Plotting the Perfect Diamond Heist

Like any smart entrepreneur knows, great is the enemy of good. Because if you wait for things to be perfect, you’ve waited too long. Same goes with marketing. Quit pondering and testing your way toward never actually doing anything. Who cares if you’re gonna change your brand colors in six months. Do something! Rather, than spending months and months on focus groups “testing” ideas, get things out into the ethos, monitor success, and tweak as necessary. Instead, combine research and instinct to choose a campaign most likely to resonate with your audience and roll the campaign out in a test market. Then use the feedback to plan next steps, knowing that the data you’ve gleaned is far more valuable than anything you’d extrapolate from a focus group.

3. Drop a Bomb in the Room and Then Throw in a Bunch of Leaflets

This is our somewhat politically incorrect philosophy: Drop a bomb, meaning do something big that gets a shit-ton of attention (yes, that’s a technical term) and then follow up with rational product messages after people are curious. Brands need both emotional and rational messages.

The job of your advertising is not just to explain how your product works. Saying a lot of things that matter to you will not make those things matter to others. Because no one makes rational purchase decisions. We all make emotional decisions and justify them with rational thinking.

Think of the two most important purchase decisions you’ve ever made: your house and your car. The average person looks at the house they buy 1.5 times and spends less than an hour there. There’s nothing rational about that. You fall in love with the view or the pizza oven and then you rationalize the purchase by saying, it’s in a good school district or the kids’ rooms are close to ours, or whatever.

Same with your car. If you were being rational when buying a car, you’d buy the most economical, safest vehicle to transport you from point A to point B. But you’ve convinced yourself that a BMW handles better and performs better. Even though if we took the badge off the front, you couldn’t tell the difference between a loaded Hyundai, Ford Fusion or a BMW. (And please don’t write me letters BMW fans. I know you could tell by the tight suspension and that BMW engine growl. Whatever.)

The point is, we fall in love with what the brand stands for and then we rationalize all the reasons it’s a “better” car for us. Same with every purchase we make. Emotions like love, envy, pride, and vanity are the driving forces of our existence. It’s what makes us human. So when it comes to vetting the perfect ad campaign, make sure people will fall in love with it or shed a tear or bust a gut laughing or say, “I totally do that!” Or, just make sure they want to wear your logo on a T-Shirt. Because, well,  there is nothing rational about wearing a logo on a T-Shirt, and yet it’s probably the most popular piece of clothing in the world today.

4. Quit Worrying So Much About Insulting the Customer

I hear this all the time from marketing people as if there’s a subsection of executives who actually want to insult their customers. Marketing people who overthink customer reactions operate from a position of fear. They think that if a person in their commercial or video is the butt of a joke or looks foolish, that equates to “making fun of our customers.” But, in actuality, people watching the commercial or video do not see themselves as the person in the commercial—unless they want to be that person. If the person is cool or smart or sexy or looks good in those jeans, they might picture themselves as that person. If it’s funny and the person in the commercial is made to look the fool, the viewer does not think, “That buffoon in the commercial is me and they’re making fun of me.” So, if you’re gonna make a joke, there has to be a butt of a joke. All your favorite commercials show people acting foolish, being made fun of and looking like buffoons. That’s why you like them. Because those people are NOT you.

5. Know Your Bedfellows

Analytics and data do a great job of tracking your target around the web. Retargeting allows us to follow people where they go and get our message in front of them. But that’s a big problem. The data doesn’t think or feel. It just follows. So if your target goes to an extreme political website or porn site or another site whose values are inconsistent with that of your brand, your ad goes there too.  So talk to your media company to target safe sites, generally denoted as whitelist sites. And follow @sleepinggiants. They follow extremist websites and let brands know when they’re appearing on the sites without their knowledge. Full disclosure: @sleepinggiants targets Breitbart and helped reduce their ad revenue by nearly 90%. So if you’re a Breitbart fan, this is probably where we part ways.

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The Small Agency Blog is produced by Division of Labor; a top West Coast advertising agency and digital marketing firm that’s been named Small Agency of the Year twice by Ad Age. The award-winning creative shop services clients on a retainer or project basis. And also offers brand consulting services and hourly engagements for startups and brands interested in testing new ideas, but who aren’t quite ready to invest in an integrated campaign or media spend. We can assist with brand strategy, brand voice, early stage asset development, video creation and other communications to get things up and running without busting your budget. Click here for a free consultation.

An Advertising and Technology Case Study

Advertising and technology often intersect as media strategies, creative ideas and digital engagements get more and more elaborate and quite frankly, more interesting. But sometimes the intersection of advertising and technology has a different purpose. Allow us to explain.

This Saturday, May 4th 2019, there is an amazing event in San Francisco called ED REV, which is held annually at Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants.

Ed REV, short for Education Revolution, is a day-long event geared towards the 1 in 5 children who struggle with learning and attention differences, often compounded by anxiety and depression. As branding experts, we don’t love the name, but we love the organization. (Perhaps if they call us, we’ll happily offer pro-bono hours to create a name that more accurately embodies their LD mission.)   

Now in its 11th year, EdRev offers education sessions, resources, and consultations with a celebratory community day at the ballpark. It is the only convention of its kind that brings together the entire LD community—students, parents, educators, and professionals. There will be an exhibit hall showcasing the latest learning technology, a stunning art gallery of the works of LD children from 100+ schools, community organizations and service providers focused specifically on learning and attention differences.

And there’ll be plenty of activities to keep the ADD kids engaged. The highlight, for most kids, is the ability to run the bases on the Giant’s field, while you relish in the knowledge that you’re surrounded by kids who all know what it means to live with a hidden disability.

As a San Francisco based ad agency, our small contribution comes in the form of a free assistive technology app we created called ModMath.  It levels the playing field for students who are falling behind in math due to dysgraphia, a condition that makes writing anything out longhand extremely difficult. Rather than bore you with the specifics check out this explainer video which sums up the disability and the app’s functionality in about 60 seconds.

The point is that advertising and technology come together whenever we use our skills to create things that push the envelope, not just for our clients, but for our world. Of course, the obvious question is: Why would an ad agency champion an app for students with learning disabilities?  Well, one in five people have a learning disability. But in my family's’ gene pool, that number is more like 3 out of 5 as it’s often hereditary. And my son (the handsome dude in our explainer video)  has a particularly bad case of dysgraphia to go along with his dyslexia. So, when we realized there was no existing technology to help a student like our son around his disability, we brought advertising and technology together. A lot of agencies are doing amazing things with technology for all kinds of causes.

And if you visit ED REV this year, you’ll learn about dozens of assistive technologies that, like ModMath, are designed to help LD kids realize their full potential. It’s a powerful event you don’t want to miss.

Please learn more by checking out ED REVs fantastic partners Understood and the Children’s Health Counsel, who work tirelessly to educate the public on learning disabilities and related mental health issues.

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The small agency blog is produced by Division of Labor; a top advertising agency and digital marketing agency in San Francisco specializing in brand marketing and digital advertising campaigns. Clients include Ford, Dropbox, Roku, and San Jose Sharks. We offer the services you’d expect from an integrated, digital marketing agency, but we also offer hourly, brand consulting services for startups, smaller companies and brands that want to start doing something but aren’t ready to get into a big integrated campaign or media spend. We can help with brand strategy, brand voice, early stage asset development, and other communications to get things up and running without breaking the bank. For a free advertising consultation.click here .

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San Jose Sharks Playoff Mode

Last year when the Sharks hit the postseason, we launched our Playoff Mode ad campaign.

The marketing plan called for TV, radio, outdoor and digital assets along with neon signs distributed to area bars and restaurants that could literally be toggled on to Playoff Mode.  

The campaign—and especially those neon signs—struck a chord with the Sharks faithful. According to the Sharks VP of Marketing, Doug Benz: “We saw higher TV ratings, stronger ticket sales, and more community activation.The idea of Playoff Mode really resonated with our fans.”

So this year the Sharks, along with their agency of record Division of Labor, invested even more heavily in Playoff Mode—with a neon-inspired campaign that builds on last year’s success but then takes it to the next level.

What did we do? The creative team created 23 unique neon designs—one for each Shark’s team player and as the playoffs commence they will light up all over the bay area.

And we’re not just taking it to outdoor, digital and social. Playoff Mode neon will be everywhere. We’re coordinating with the Sharks internal production teams who will take the neon designs into the pre-game 3D light show—a truly amazing production coordinated by the talented Dustin Lamendola. Additionally, custom Twitter animations will be created and in-stadium signage is already in place. And the biggest piece: 10 different custom neon signs to hang in bars and as fan giveaways.  We anticipate the Burnzie (Brent Burns), The Don Father (Jonas Donskoi), Dilly Dilly (Bendon Dillon) and Jumbo (Joe Thornton) installations to be among the most coveted.

Of course, it’s not feasible to give every fan a five-foot neon sign to light up their living room. So we collaborated with the Shark’s street team who will be heading out into the community and handing out Playoff Preparedness kits, replete with teal phone covers, Playoff Mode rally rags, and teal light bulbs. Fans can then “turn on” Playoff Mode on at home. “You can show everyone you're in playoff mode by putting that (teal light bulb) in your front porch light and showing off your teal.” says Benz.  The new neon designs are now emblazoned on everything from rally towels to T-Shirts, hats, and related swag in the Sharks shops at SAP Center.

The Small Agency Blog is produced by Division of Labor; a top West Coast advertising agency and digital marketing firm that’s been named Small Agency of the Year twice by Ad Age. The award winning creative shop services clients on a retainer or project basis. And also offers brand consulting services and hourly engagements for startups and brands interested in testing new ideas, but who aren’t quite ready to invest in an integrated campaign or media spend. We can assist with brand strategy, brand voice, early stage asset development, video creation and other communications to get things up and running without busting your budget. Click here for a free consultation.