ILoveGay.NET

By Alfred Verhoeven

In the course of my PhD research Marketing the Rainbow I came to some unexpected conclusions and discovered trends, virals, bloopers and gems. I went in search of the answer to the question “Does the Gay Consumer even exist?”. I can probably give away the answer: “No, but the gay consumer does exist” (subtle difference, but very important). I have elaborated on a few important points in the article below, with hyperlinks to previous articles and illustrative videos on YouTube if you want to read or watch further.

About the important role of the marketer on the road from Representation to Respect.

Turning point

My search has now spanned over a decade, a period in which a lot has changed in this area, with 2015 being the turning point. In that year, the US Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, a milestone we in the Netherlands achieved in 2001 as the first in the world. This statement from SCOTUS was regarded by the business community as a stamp of approval: not only that marriage was allowed, but also an acknowledgment of the existence of the LGBT community and their role in society. Apparently, that was necessary. The American shout out could be heard worldwide, with the blurring borders of the internet and especially social media, and the globalization of advertising and marketing contributing strongly.

Before that, it was almost only the progressive brands that had noticed  the gays (m/f) and incorporated them into their marketing plans: IKEA, Absolut, Apple, Google, and some branches here and there, like the hospitality industry, fashion, wine, beer and vodka. This is despite the outrage of the religious right and their cries for boycotts. Their shouting is actually welcome, because in practice those boycotts always backfired. After 2015, John and Everyman wanted to show how inclusive they were, and from the local pizzeria to the big business, everyone is showing rainbows these days. Not always sincere and sometimes really wrong (pinkwashing), but where my American colleague Mike Wilke from Adrespect and I saw something of interest every month until 2015, we are now completely swamped because of the waterfall of relevant, interesting, shameful and viral advertisements that we see and that are sent to us. It is now almost daily.

Checklist

The situation in the Netherlands is very different from that in the US. That marriage turnaround in 2001, which required no fewer than 251 (!) law changes, was beautiful and necessary – and I took advantage of it – but we soon returned to business as usual. OK, a stream of lavish weddings started, after all it was a catching up process of mainly older couples, and there was enough money there to give the wedding market a significant boost.

However, the Netherlands has been tolerant and open since ages: we are diverse, and that seems to fit well in our society. The expression “just act normal then you act crazy enough” is wonderfully applicable to much of our marketing and communication: you see it more often ‘casually’ than ‘explicitly’. In other markets they clearly work with ticking as many boxes as possible on the diversity list. Just look at the explostion of diversity in this British McCain commercial:

Gender is still used functionally in the Netherlands, but all other forms of diversity come to us more or less casually. And when it comes to Marketing the Rainbow and representation, I’m mainly looking at the visibility of people here, not slapping rainbows on a product, the front door of the head office or Instagram. That is in fact quite easy, usually temporarily and then forgotten again: it often leans against pinkwashing. Please note: any kind of attention and support is appreciated, but also scrutinized – so do it right!

Formula

I have developed the following formula to represent the process that brands, organizations and marketers are in when it comes to Marketing the Rainbow.

Representation –> visibility –> normalization –> tolerance –> acceptance –> respect.

1. Representation. Showing people in your ad other than a white male-female couple seems logical but just as there is still an underrepresentation of women and people with a migrant background or disability in (the top of) the business community, this also applies to LGBT.

Representation is very important for role models. The 15-year-old gay person from rural Alabama who is still in the closet and does not know how to get out of it has been helped a lot with a Ellen Degeneres or Pete Buttigieg. But can they identify with such celebs? Marketing can play an important role here to show ‘regular’ lesbian girls or gay men. The Dutch Railways did that nicely in 2018 with “Taste the Freedom”.

2. Visibility. This is a direct result of Representation, but can be shown in different ways. It started in the 1990s with “ridiculing”: there was not that much to laugh about in the advertisements that Doritos made for the Super Bowl or Amstel’s video about a man/woman in a cafe. It was about “gay tease” (such as the Doritos commercial with Enrique Iglesias) or “gay vague” (Heineken’s ‘gay bonding incident‘). It is ‘at the expense of’ and then visibility may as well be omitted.

It was followed by a more respectful display, but often with stereotypes, because ‘people’ were not used to it yet, and you still had to make it clear that that lady was sapphic by turning her into a bull dyke, or that that gentleman was “of suspicious elegance” and therefore rendered effeminate. This was usually insulting, but sometimes fun (Centraal Beheer’s “forbidden” advertising Adam & Eve that went viral or that of Delta Lloyd). Couples were used more often, because then at least you knew what was going on and they could be ‘normally’ represented as people. Visibility is of course mainly about ATL.

NB: it’s okay to make jokes, but… jokes about gays, Jews, women, Blacks or people with disabilities may only be made with any decency by members of those groups. So, as a brand, be careful how you design that visibility in a funny way: you must first prove that you are allowed to do it! For example, Absolut and Ikea have acquired that right, but not many others. If you engage Jonathan Van Ness this goes without saying, of course.

3. Normalization. The more often you see something, the more normal it becomes. Think of the beards, which suddenly appeared society-wide in the 00s. You didn’t really know anyone with a beard, and if you saw one it was an old uncle or some weirdo, but now that you see them in abundance, from old to young and from vegan to butcher, you think: OK, so it’s beards all around us. Well, it is like that with LGBT. We really are EVERYWHERE and pose no threat. On the contrary, we make an important contribution to society. Like those beards, probably. And that we do things you wouldn’t do: oh well, who cares? As a man it should be allowed to paint your nails and go to the office like that. Or start with a beard?

HelloFresh had a nice advertisement in 2018 in which we casually see two men in the kitchen.

4. Tolerance. It’s a bit of a bad word, and it’s sometimes used as an target or success. But it isn’t: it reflects a kind of balance of power: you can walk around here, but don’t get on my nerves, please. We make the rules here, so stick to them. We really should skip this stage as soon as possible, but it is part of the process. Millennials are the most tolerant generation ever, and in that context it is a trait that is broader and leads directly to phases 5 and 6.

5. Acceptance. We’ve come a long way now! You can be part of our circle, group, family, association, society. You and me, we’re equals even though we both do our own thing. We are no longer surprised by two men walking hand in hand on the street, or two girls kissing each other fondly. Likewise, we shouldn’t bat an eyelid when we meet a transgender person, or someone where we don’t know whether it’s a man or a woman — and just don’t ask, or even consider that question!

Pantene has been paying extra attention to transgender customers for a few years now (I have no less than 27 relevant videos on my YouTube channel, also see my separate case study). With a few beautiful campaigns and slogans they show inclusivity for this vulnerable group, including with “A Girl Named Kevin”.

6. Respect. That’s the dot on the horizon. Where we are not only recognized and acknowledged, but also valued and respected. Where we all have equal rights, which is supported or shown in advertising and communications. There have been quite a few brands that have thrown their weight behind the fight for marriage equality, for example: most notably in the US, UK, Ireland and Australia. In the Netherlands it all went so fast that the business community could hardly catch up. We saw a ‘gay wedding regularly in commercials (both before and after legalization): already in 1997 with Johnnie Walker and in 2017 with Magnum ice cream, both in Australia, Björn Borg in 2018 (via Blockchain!) and before that very funnily in 2008, where the joke was repeated by Renault in 2012. We saw Bud Light with a jolly Seth Rogen and Amy Schumer, Sourcy did it in the series “Full of Dutch Character” and Heineken with a thick Dutch accent in the Crate Chronicles. And then of course there was the Zola scandal that toppled the CEO of Crown Media Family Networks (Hallmark).

Respect must also be shown for the contribution to GDP by LGBT people. The US National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce reported that LGBT owned and operated businesses contributed more than $1.7 trillion to the US economy.

American professor Richard Florida is known for his concept of “high bohemians”. He argues that metropolitan regions with high concentrations of techies, artists, musicians, lesbians and gay men show a higher level of economic development. Florida refers to these groups collectively as the “creative class.” He has designed his own ranking systems that rate cities on a “Bohemian Index”, a “Gay Index“, a “Diversity Index” and similar criteria. Although his theories are not undisputed, it is interesting that he attributes an important role to LGBT in the well-being of a city. And that is also respect – and appreciation.

What is missing in this series is the important factor of “Support”: however, this is an all-embracing value that follows from the formula and its elements, and which is strengthened by reaching the finish line step by step.

From ridiculing to inclusive, from representation to respect. From the ‘in your face’ visibility of Doritos to the casual representation of ABN AMRO.

Conclusion

The defined formula describes how marketing, advertising and communication can contribute to a growing respect for each other, and for LGBT+ in particular. However, if a brand, a media buyer, advertising agency or a MarCommer were to go down this road, it is not just praiseworthy. It is also good for your company and the bottom line (pun intended). Because there are no fewer than 4 reasons to put your diversity into practice – plus two bonus reasons (my previous article for ILOVEGAY.net).

Another article I published for ILOVEGAY.net before was The Rules Of Market Segmentation.