Gay Depiction in Advertisement

Advertising and Gay Consumers

The media are making progress in its depiction of gays and lesbians. Perhaps the most striking example of this is the active courting of gay and lesbian consumers through gay-positive advertising and marketing campaigns.

In 1994, IKEA aired a commercial that depicted two gay men shopping for a dining room set, making the store the first company to actively target gay consumers. Since that time, many companies have started to target gay and lesbian consumers with gay-positive marketing campaigns. These campaigns are directed to a specific market: gay men and lesbians who live in cities, are single and have a large amount of disposable income.

Advertising critic Michael Wilke questions whether this trend is actually an attempt to court gay consumers. He says that advertisers are capitalizing on the cultural cachet and perceived hipness of the gay lifestyle only as a way of selling their products—and are not specifically interested in attracting gay consumers.

Writer Michelle Moinier disagrees. In an article in Altema, a publication on consumer trends, Moinier maintains that certain products, though not actually conceived for the gay population, are nevertheless marketed that way, with messages and images clearly targeted at the lucrative gay market.

Critics argue that the visibility of gays and lesbians in advertising is not an indication of the increased social acceptance of gays and lesbians, but simply an attempt by advertisers and network executives to access an untapped market. They worry that after almost thirty years of political struggle, gay and lesbian rights have been reduced to increased consumer choice. An increase in positive representations of gays and lesbians in commercials, films, and television shows is an improvement, but such progress does not signal the achievement of social and political equality.