Recently in Advertising Category
Only days after premiering a TV ad which had us in the United States envious and asking "Why can't something like that air here?", Heinz UK has withdrawn its Deli Mayo ad that featured two men sharing a kiss. Heinz pulled the commercial after approximately 200 viewers complained to UK's Advertising Standards Authority that it was "offensive" and "inappropriate to see two men kissing".
The TV ad is the first by Heinz's new ad agency AMV BBDO since it won the £10m-a-year UK business last year. According to the Guardian, the agency said the concept behind the campaign is that the product tastes so good, "It's as if you have your own New York deli man in your kitchen," and the ad was not intentionally meant to represent same-sex parents.
UPDATE: CNN Headline News featured the story on Wednesday, June 25 and invited TruthWinsOut.org's Executive Director Wayne Besen onto a panel to discuss the ad. Watch the footage here:
The TV ad is the first by Heinz's new ad agency AMV BBDO since it won the £10m-a-year UK business last year. According to the Guardian, the agency said the concept behind the campaign is that the product tastes so good, "It's as if you have your own New York deli man in your kitchen," and the ad was not intentionally meant to represent same-sex parents.
UPDATE: CNN Headline News featured the story on Wednesday, June 25 and invited TruthWinsOut.org's Executive Director Wayne Besen onto a panel to discuss the ad. Watch the footage here:
After hitting the GLAAD Hancock Park event on Sunday, June 1, head to West Hollywood's Fiesta Cantina for the launch of photog Adam Bouska's 2009 16-month calendar. The calendar stars the staff of Fiesta and each month features a different liquor. Our pick is April (left) which features JP Yurgle being rained on by GLAAD sponsor Absolut Citron. "This photo is amongst one of my personal favorites," says Adam.
"To those of you attending the release party, large
oversized 35"x35" prints from each month will be on silent auction for
the night."
$15 cover at the door gets you a copy of the calendar as well as entrance to the private rooftop reception. Best of all: 100% of the proceeds goes to AIDS Project Los Angeles. If you're not local, the calendar will be available through the artist's website.
$15 cover at the door gets you a copy of the calendar as well as entrance to the private rooftop reception. Best of all: 100% of the proceeds goes to AIDS Project Los Angeles. If you're not local, the calendar will be available through the artist's website.
The Queer Media Conference 2008 — Q-Me Con — has announced its lineup of great educational and networking media panels taking place in the Big Apple May 9-11. Check out their site for the schedule AND receive a discount on your tickets. Use promo code "GLAAD" to get $3 off individual seminar tickets, $5 off workshop & VIP seminar passes.
The online dating site Chemistry.com is launching a new $40 million ad campaign featuring four comedic spots, one with a gay couple exchanging mock wedding vows — in a deli. The ads kick off April 14 and will primarily run on cable networks like Bravo, Food Network and TNT.
See a sneak preview here:
Last year's "Rejected by eHarmony" ads took a direct swipe at its online competitor, including a commercial with a gay male. That ad is nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Advertising – Electronic.
The two-year-old Chemistry.com, which is owned by Match.com, is continuing to promote itself as "a progressive, non-judgmental brand," Mandy Ginsberg, GM/VP of Chemistry.com, told Brandweek magazine. "Our mantra is come as you are."
The inclusive campaign has worked thus far, as the site reports an increase of 72% in traffic.
See a sneak preview here:
Last year's "Rejected by eHarmony" ads took a direct swipe at its online competitor, including a commercial with a gay male. That ad is nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Advertising – Electronic.
The two-year-old Chemistry.com, which is owned by Match.com, is continuing to promote itself as "a progressive, non-judgmental brand," Mandy Ginsberg, GM/VP of Chemistry.com, told Brandweek magazine. "Our mantra is come as you are."
The inclusive campaign has worked thus far, as the site reports an increase of 72% in traffic.
To mark the 25th anniversary of designing hip, wearable fashion for the masses, Kenneth Cole is launching a new ad campaign, "We All Walk in Different Shoes."
Departing from the typical use of professional models, Cole selected "bold, unexpected people of substance," according to a release.
One of the ads features Joanna and Nicoletta Tessler, a gay married couple, with their daughter, Ruthie (right). Another subject is Patrick Sammon, the President of Log Cabin Republicans (left).
Complete images of the campaign, as well as biographies and interviews with each image's subject, can be found on the official web site of Kenneth Cole.
Our friends at CommercialCloset.org have put together their picks of Superbowl ads which feature LGBT content. Or do they? Postings on YouTube show just how divided people are on Commercial Closet's choices and whether much of the content could even be considered remotely gay. In one spot, Justin Timberlake's pal, SNL's Andy Sanberg, briefly plays himself as a Justin stalker in a Britney wig. Gay? Trans? C, none of the above?
What's clear is that there isn't really a Snickers ad in the bunch. After last year's male liplock=violence theme led to the entire campaign being scrapped, advertisers seemed to step cautiously into any territory that could be considered gay, or specifically, violence against gays.
But AfterElton.com's Michael Jensen, who jokes that his hat may have been screwed on too tight during the game, interpreted gay violence in two ads: One, a Bridgestone spot where a driver seems to have his eyes set on running down Richard Simmons (who is not out and has said in the past he's not gay). The second is a Fox Prison Break promo where the scumbag character of T-Bag (a sexual predator both in and out of prison, leading Jensen to label him bisexual) is flattened by players on the Superbowl field. If Jensen was looking to engage his readers it worked; by days end many readers posted that yes, his hat probably was screwed on too tight.
But why read what the Monday Morning Quarterbacks had to say when you can watch and decide for yourself here:
Wouldn't it be nice if Orbitz just aired one of its gay-inclusive ads during the Superbowl? Now that would be progress.
Watch & Win!
GLAAD Entertainment
Our Mission
