Societal Change - Advertising Campaigns About Homophobia & Gay Issues

Posted by Gino Cosme

September 12, 2008

Advertising to the gay community is nothing new. MTV, General Motors, Nivea for Men, D&G, and Levi’s are amongst the many brands that have done so. In fact, according to a report on mygayweb.com, 78% of gay online users prefer to buy from companies that target market to the GLBT (Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender) community (via). And a Gay Press Report in 2006 reported that the total buying power of the GLBT population in the United States was $641 billion in 2006.

However, this post is not about commercial gay advertising. It’s about social advertising for the sake of human rights and gender equality within the GLBT community. For many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) people, discrimination and fear of disapproval is an acute matter. As teenagers, many run away from home because they feel rejected by their families. Some grow up hiding their sexual orientation for fear of discrimination, harassment, sexual abuse and violence, and often feel segregated, lacking the emotional support they deserve.

The following adverts (via Osocio) help address these topics of importance:

I’m Glad I Failed is an advertising campaign by The Trevor Project that ran during National Suicide Prevention Week this week in the USA. The campaign targeted lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender teenagers who, as a result of homophobia, contemplate committing suicide. The adverts feature the stories of four young people who are glad that their attempts to commit suicide as a result of intolerance failed for the simple reason that their lives have now changed for the better. It’s backed up by a website and blog.

To see a campaign of similar note in South Africa would be great - one that is widespread enough to reach our own teenagers who are going through the very same issues.

The New York State Black Gay Network ran a campaign reaching out to inner-city gay African American men in Harlem. The aim of this campaign was two-fold; reach out to community members who don’t know that homosexuality exists and educate the community on safe-sex.

Again, this campaign is something that I think could easily resonate well in communities throughout Africa.

Back to the youth, in Israel the Israel Gay Youth Organization is supporting teenagers who are struggling with their sexual orientation and promoting equal rights for gay people with their ‘coming out of the closet’ campaign. It’s interesting how they’ve used an everyday activity to bring across the message!

The same organisation is also responsible for the brilliant TV ad below that has gained momentum online.

Discrimination is something we all face sometime in our lives. The Danish Institute for Human Rights (Institut for Menneskerettigheder) and the Minister for Gender Equality (Minister for Ligestilling) captures the important message that no one should be a victim of discrimination. “We all have the right not to discriminated against, to not allow anyone to discriminate you or others.”

Would it not be great to see something similar airing our own TV stations?

Lastly, the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center launched a soap online - something that would normally be done on television. The online soap In The Moment interactively deals with HIV prevention as well as how the Internet is challenging traditional relationships. The series also makes use of Ning to create an online community around the show.

Check out the first episode here.

While these are just some of the ads - this post is already quite lengthy - it’s interesting to see the creative coming out (no pun intended) from our international colleagues. In South Africa, we don’t see enough of this kind of advertising.

One last note; aside for a couple, many of these campaigns don’t use the Internet effectively enough to extend the campaigns. A billboard or TV ad is great to draw widespread interest into these important issues, however the use of Internet could empower the community even further to help each other, draw on other peoples experiences, and keep the message alive. As Susan R. Cohen of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center said, “we needed to be where the guys are” - on the Internet.”

What other gay outreach campaigns are out there worth sharing?