Commercial du Jour

Maybe of the year. I don't watch regular TV, so I seldom have any take on ads unless they start generating news on their own. This one is:

In the context of the accusations of harassment and sexual abuse over the past few years, I guess better late than never. I will point out, though, that it took a national movement to penetrate the boardroom, which, in the case of abuse of women I find instructive: corporations have been very quick to respond to the gay community. Maybe this is why we can't have a woman president.*

The incels and right-wing nutjobs at YouTube are losing it over this one. I wonder why.

Via Joe.My.God.

* Stray thought: So many other countries have had female heads of state or heads of government -- the UK, Germany, Iceland, India, Sri Lanka, Israel, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Liberia, just off the top of my head (and I'm sure I'm missing some) -- and yet America elected a black man as president and still hasn't elected a woman. We haven't even elected a ticket that included a woman as VP. That says something.

Signs of the Times

New York City (or at least, its tourism group) has undertaken an ad campaign promoting New York City as the "intersection of everything," which in itself is not particularly objectionable (although Chicago could certainly dispute it). Fine.

But the website on the ads is "NYCGO.com." Now I'm sure to a New Yorker, that translates as "New York City Go." To a Chicagoan, however, it reads "New York Chicago."

Just sayin'.

Antidote: New Zealand Cops

Been under the weather for a few days, but this lightened up my morning:

Culture Break: The John Lewis Christmas Ad

John Lewis is a major British retailer, and their Christmas ads are always wonderful. This approaches high art:

And for all the whiny "Christians" out there, yes, I said "Christmas." Big whooping deal.

A note: just about everyone has a Solstice holiday. (And yes, Christmas was on the Solstice on the old calendar, moved from the spring to coincide -- and co-opt -- the Roman Saturnalia.) It's just another example of the self-absorption of so-called "Christians" that saying "holiday" is offensive.

Grow up and get over yourselves.

(And I think it's just the cherry on top that the ad features an interracial couple. Lewis does things like that.)

And another note: I've noticed, probably in response to the Trump regime's attacks on immigrants, LGBTs, women, and other minorities, and the lawsuits of poor, persecuted "Christians" who've discovered that they're not immune from anti-discrimination laws, that a lot of businesses on Chicago's North Side have signs saying "Everyone welcome here."

Today in Advertising: The Three Bears

Rowse Honey, a UK brand, has an ad campaign that's a lot of fun, featuring, of course, the Three Bears -- although Goldilocks doesn't seem to be in evidence. Here's the trailer:

And you can watch the first three episodes at Rowse's YouTube channel.

Three Ads

All aired during the Super Bowl. All are right up in Trump's face.

First, from Airbnb:

Acceptance starts with all of us. #weaccept pic.twitter.com/btgqyYHVTK

— Airbnb (@Airbnb) February 6, 2017

Airbnb is also offering free housing to those affected by Trump's Muslim travel ban.

And from Coke -- following a theme they've used for years:

Here's the Coke ad that ran tonight—it's basically one big subtweet of Trump. pic.twitter.com/a6CYdTSnsw

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 5, 2017

And last but not least, the Anheuser-Busch ad, which has gained some notoriety: it's a brief take on another immigrant:

Do you supposed Trump has any idea how much he is despised?

Via The New Civil Rights Movement.

A Day Late, Just Because

I seem to remember this ad from last year, but it may be just the music, which seems to pop up everywhere. At any rate:

Needless to say, the likes of Linda Harvey and Janet Porter hated it, so it must be a good thing.

(And a side thought: considering all the ads that stress inclusiveness and especially the number that are showing gays and lesbians favorably -- which is to say, just treating them as perfectly normal -- and the fact that their boycotts are big flops, it's no wonder the god-botherers are so hysterical: when it comes to hearts and minds, they're losing. Badly.)

By the way, if anyone knows the title/artist on that song, leave it in the comments. It's going to drive me crazy now.

Thanks.

There's a Lot

packed into this video. It's actually a short, directed by Dustin Lance Black, and it's a plug for Coca Cola.

Have You Noticed?

The presidential election is in November, 2016. It's August, 2015. 85% of news coverage is election related, mostly about the Republican contenders trying to make themselves out to be bigger asses than Donald Trump. (Although you have to admire The Hairpiece for taking over the discourse the way he did. Poor Ted Cruz, left out in the cold like that.)

And our "independent press" is just eating it up.

Best Ad Ever

I don't have anything to add:

Although the puppy's cute, too.

They Might As Well Give Up

I spend way too much time surfing the Internet these days, when I should be doing things like cleaning house, but I do see some interesting trends.

If you follow this blog, you know I've spent a fair amount of time covering the marriage fight, but that's only part of the picture -- a high-profile part, to be sure, but only part. That's where the major campaign has been waged in the past few years, that's the one getting all the press, and that's the one leading to much wailing and rending of garments on the part of the guardians of "traditional values." (Who, as far as I'm concerned, have as much understanding of values as they do of morality, which is to say, rudimentary, at best.)

Yes, marriage is a fundamental and very important institution, but there's another one that's equally important and, if I may hazard an opinion, equally foundational: marketing.

OK, he's lost it, you're thinking. But consider: we are basically a capitalist society. Not purely capitalist, because that inevitably leads to disaster, but in all essentials, we have private producers and purveyors who offer goods and services to the public. It's a consumer driven economy, and a society that is ultimately very materialistic. And of course, marketing is the means by which the producers and purveyors try to convince the consumers to buy their particular brand.

And look what's been happening lately:

From Banana Republic:

That's Nate Berkus and his fiance, Jeremiah Brent, in a campaign highlighting "real relationships."

And from Tiffany:

The couple, who are a real gay couple, remain anonymous at this point, but the caption is a winner:

"Will you promise to never stop completing my sentences or singing off-key, which I'm afraid you do often? And will you let today be the first sentence of one long story that never, ever ends? Will you?"

And to cap it off, this spot for the ACA:

(Via Joe.My.God.)

This is also a real-life couple.

The intent in these ads is plain: they want to appeal to younger people, those who are growing up with the ideas of diversity and inclusiveness (which, after all, are real American values: without those in the mix, this country would not have survived) as a firm part of their world view, and they want to appeal to the great middle, that majority of Americans who are not bothered by the idea of equal rights, including marriage, for gay people. They're aiming for the mainstream, which the Tony Perkinses and Bryan Fischers and Brian Browns are not. Americans are, on the whole, a tolerant people, no matter what you hear from the fringes. (And it's only the fringes that seem to get any coverage these days, I guess because they're loud and obnoxious and that somehow translates into ratings.) We as a people are pretty much live and let live, and we're rapidly approaching the point, if we're not already there, that for most people, something like that ad caption above generates an "Aww" and not a heart attack.

These are only the latest in a series of similar ads and TV spots going way back that have been cropping up more and more frequently, and which show no sign of disappearing.

I'm not the first to register on this: here's a story from Adweek from 2011 on "The 50 Gayest Ads Ever" that also demonstrates that the phenomenon is, and has been, global. In fact, other countries are way ahead of us. Remember this McDonald's ad, from France?

And this one, which led to one of those phenomenally successful (just ask them) boycotts from Anti-Gay, Inc.:

I think it was the tag line -- "This is wholesome" -- that caused heads to explode. Poor things. At any rate, you get the idea. It's a phenomenon that's been pretty much out of the spotlight, but it's been happening gradually, quietly (usually), and all over the world. It's called "normalization," and we're there.

I'm So Glad I Live In Illinois

This is an ad for something:

A nice little bit of reverse psychology to get young people to sign up for Obamacare.

As one commenter noted, now the Republicans have their replacement for the ACA.

Now if the state can just survive our new governor. (Even we make mistakes.)

The Cheerios Effect

It's a thing. It really is. And it generated this ad:

The official YouTube description:

It seemed like André and Jonathan had it all - great careers, a beautiful home, and their love for one another. Then along came Raphaëlle.

Share your connection story at http://cheerioseffect.ca

And for the background on this, see Joe.My.God.

Finally, some good news.

We're Everywhere

Via Towleroad, this:

This was aired on DirecTV during last night's NFL season starter between the Packers and Seahawks. Aside from the fact that it's a cute commercial, I think it illustrates something that we're going to see more and more: gay men and lesbians* being treated as mainstream. The punchline, I think, gives it away: not only does it identify these two as a couple, but stresses that they're just like any other couple.

Cue the OneMillion(minus 999,999)Moms in 3. . . 2. . . . ("Save the Cheeeldrin!!!")

* Footnote: I'm not going the LGBT route because this is not an all-inclusive phenomenon. Trans folk have a way to go yet, and will undoubtedly soon enjoy the full brunt of the "Christian" right's attacks, now that said "Christians" have lost against gays. These are the kind of people who need an enemy to justify themselves, and people are as ignorant about trans people now as they were about gay men and lesbians twenty or thirty years ago. We've already seen the kind of misrepresentations and scare tactics the right will be using against them in the so-called "bathroom" fear-mongering.

As for bisexuals, they seem to get lost in the shuffle -- not, I think, because they're being ignored, but because they don't seem to form a cohesive and visible group. And if any of my readers are bi and feel I'm misstating the case, one bit of advice: if you feel you're being ignored, stand up and start yelling, just like everyone else has done.

I may buy a Kindle

Just because of this:

'Nuff said?

(Outrage from OneMillionMoms in 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . Oh, and Brian Brown? Go ahead and boycott Amazon.)

And from my comment at Joe.My.God. (with thanks for the heads up) -- "Which husband is which?"