TOPIC: CONTROVERTIAL BENCH ADVERTISEMENT: AN

INTENTIONAL OR AN UNINTENTIONAL MARKETING

STRATEGY?
JOURNALS
SEXUAL ORIENTATION: A PERIPHERAL CUE IN ADVERTISING?
Adrienne Holz Ivory (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State
University)
Although many firms target gay and lesbian consumers in gay media,
other marketers avoid advertising in more mainstream media sources for
fear of negative responses from heterosexual consumers. Fear of
heterosexual consumer backlash from gay-themed ads is not unfounded, as
a recent survey by the Pew Research Center (2003) found that nearly half of
the U.S. population has an unfavorable opinion of gay men (50%
unfavorable) and lesbians (48% unfavorable). Therefore, marketers may face
difficulties in weighing the potential benefits and drawbacks of placing
advertisements targeted toward gay males and lesbians in more mainstream
media. While such ads will reach a large audience of gay male and lesbian
consumers who may respond favorably, the ads will also reach an even
larger audience of heterosexual consumers who may respond negatively.
GAY ADVERTISING AS NEGOTIATIONS: REPRESENTATIONS OF
HOMOSEXUAL, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDER PEOPLE IN
MAINSTREAM COMMERCIALS
Wan-Hsiu Sunny Tsai (University of Texas)
Out-of-closet advertising offers a clear position of identification for gay
viewers by presenting out gay characters, showing affectionate displays
between same-sex couples, and supporting issues in gay rights movements,
such as gay marriage and gay adoption rights. Yet these ads have been
criticized for their blandness and lack of gay sensitivity, which can be
commonly problematic issues for many social minorities, especially for a
group sensitive to being portrayed as the stigmatized Other.

BOOKS

AGENDA SETTING IN A 2.0 WORLD: NEW AGENDAS IN

COMMUNICATION
Thomas J. Johnson
Advertising is an essentially rich field associated with behavioral
effects of agenda-setting. The concept of salience in agenda setting operated
in parallel with a strategy of advertising so that the issue salience could be
applied to an advertising strategy based on brand salience (Sutherland and
Galloway, 1981).
A theoretical model is proposed that links agenda-setting [of an
advertising material] to its behavior consequences towards the audiences.

Attention to cmedia
Agenda-setting
effects
c
c
Opinion formation
Civic behaviors
CONTROVERSIES IN CONTEMPORARY ADVERTISING
Kim Bartel Sheehan
Chapter 9 Advertising and Age, Sexual Orientations, and Ability
There are many reasons why the LGBT community tend to be invisible
in advertising messages, and thus may not be considered part of the
mainstream. Brands are often afraid they will present these populations in a
way that is insulting or stereotypical, which has the potential of hurting the
brand and insulting the population. Reinforcement of the invisibility of these
groups can cause harm to peoples opportunity for treatment equal to that
of mainstream consumers (Gardner, 2000).
SEXUAL IDENTITIES AND THE MEDIA: AN INTRODUCTION
Wendy Hilton-Morrow, Kathleen Battles
Chapter 4 Consumer Culture
Another way advertising agencies attempt to reach gay audiences
without attracting the heteronormative community is through gay vague
or gay window advertising. Instead of featuring overt heterosexual
markers like straight couples or individuals, advertisers include more
ambiguous representations such as a single individual. Gay vague ads rely
on ambiguity to allow, or encourage different audiences to interpret the
same advertising material in different ways. The codes interpreted by
audiences connote deeper interpretations that only the gay community can
decode. This technique in advertising has been a relatively common practice
in clothing, cologne, and liquor ads since early 1980s.