Gay Ads That Matter - Issue No. 011 - Kingis Ice Cream Makes Gay Cool

OMG, can you imagine the outcry from Conservatives and Christians alike if a similar commercial were to air in the United States?  Hell, we can't even get a cheesy-ass Doritos commercial without fear of retribution.  Well, maybe I shouldn't be so harsh.  We did just see Will & Sonny make love on Days of Our Lives.

But now that we know how Finland advertises their ice cream.  What are we going to do with our Blue Bell here in the U.S. Lol.  

Check out the ad, it's pretty darn cool and, uh, a little gay.

Gay Ads That Matter - Issue No. 010 - Respect For Marriage

"None of us would want to be told we can't marry the person we love".

While I was working out this morning, I saw a marriage equality ad on CNN that I hadn't seen before.  After doing some research, I learned The Respect for Marriage Coalition had just released a $1 million dollar ad campaign featuring prominent Republican politicians.

The 30-second ad uses clips from various news networks where the former First Lady Laura Bush, former Vice-President Dick Cheney, and former Secretary of State Colin Powell each voiced their support for marriage equality in the past.  The ad ends with President Obama's inauguration clip in support of "our gay brothers and sisters."

If you haven't seen it yet, check it out here...

Gay Ads That Matter - Issue No. 009 - Sugar Baby Love [NSFW]

Ryan and I saw the movie, Breakfast on Pluto yesterday, and a song in the movie reminded him of a video I had posted on my old blog a very long time ago.  It's really cute, maybe not NSFW, but c'mon it's a cartoon.  

Introduced at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006, the film was made in reference to safe sex and AIDS awareness, one of the main reasons you see condoms throughout the video.

The song in the background is by the Rubettes, "Sugar Baby Love" I posted the lyrics after the jump.

Lyrics after the jump.

Back In The Day - Vintage Christmas Light Ad

Who would have thought that back in the day it would've been okay to buy Gay Christmas Lites.  LOL.  You gotta love Christmas!  Have A Merry one everybody!

Gay Ads That Matter - Issue No. 008 - A Skateboarder's Love

When the commercial down below first aired, the amount of backlash from the conservative right was endless.  This went on for months, even years.  I have to hand it to MTV for standing their ground, for being big supporters of anti-discrimination.  And since then, we have watched as ABC, NBC, CBS, and yes, even FOX have been showing programming directed at gay youth, bullying, and teen suicides.

In the Following Video two serious-looking young guys in baseball caps arrive with a big tool kit, blocks of wood and some blueprints. They begin sawing, drilling and hammering.

They build a half-pipe for skateboarding and, when it's complete, give each other a macho handshake and then pull each other forward for a sensual kiss. The text then offers, "You never know."

The young audience of MTV of course respects the idea of skaters, but would not expect them to be gay. The kiss is an unexpected juxtaposition against the macho handshake, thus breaking stereotypes.

MTV has set the gold standard among all advertisers for the most ads that refer to the community, more than 25 since 1996, in addition to carrying numerous gay ads from other companies and running its own supportive gay-inclusive programming.  Check out the commercial below.

Gay Ads That Matter - Issue No. 006 - Come As You Are

I honestly didn't realize it had been over 2 months since I posted an issue of "Gay Ads That Matter," until today, when I came across an ad that was released by McDonald's back in 2010.  There was a lot of controversy over this ad, primarily from Republicans, and the conservative right.  Fox News' O'Reilly went all psychotic on it.

I remember posting this ad on Facebook about a year ago, and it's titled "Come As You Are."  The reason why it matters, is because it features a young guy, either in high school or college, eating in a McDonald's restaurant with his dad, who doesn't know that his son is gay.  While the video doesn't say he's gay per se, it does imply it by having the boy talking to a classmate while looking at a class photo of  an all boys school. At the end of the commercial, it confirms it by saying, "Come As You Are."

The brand director of McDonald's in France had this to say...

"We wanted to take a look at how French society is today. We're very comfortable with the topic of homosexuality, there is obviously no problem with homosexuality in France today". While the statement sounds a bit naive in a country where same sex couples cannot legally marry nor adopt, the idea was to give a positive image of the brand: "The point was not to show someone who is troubled, especially a teenager. We know it can be difficult for some people, but we wouldn't have dared show someone who is struggling".

I commend McDonald's for doing this commercial; I only wish they would have made an American version.  Until then, we'll only get the ones that will make fun of who we are.  Especially around Super Bowl time.

Gay Ads That Matter - Issue No. 005 - Google Makes a Stand For The Better

If you were watching Glee on Tuesday night you may have noticed a Google Chrome commercial midway through the show that probably had Bryan Fischer ROTFL or PO'd.  Regardless of the outcry from these haters, I'm re-evaluating my use of browsers for the first time in 7 years.  

The intense ad featured some well-known and not so well-known people, but most importantly, it starred Dan Savage, the creator of the It Gets Better Project.

Thank you Google for making a stand - you just helped broadcast our message of equality to millions of people in just one evening - imagine the possibilities.

Please feel free to check out more Gay Ads That Matter here

Gay Ads That Matter - Issue No. 004 - Stand Up PSA from Ireland

It's been exactly two months since I posted any "Gay Ads That Matter," the last one was on February 8.  It's not very often I come across an advertisement that will bring me to tears, but this one does it.  Maybe it only brings gay people to tears, I don't know.  All I know is... it is one of the most powerful messages I have ever seen.

It was "Stand Up! LGBT Awareness Week" in Ireland last week, and in preparation for this event, Stand Up! released the following public service announcement.  Their purpose?  To "provide an annual focus for promoting positive awareness of LGBT young people, tackling homophobia and homophobic bullying, and building allies among young people and youth workers."

OMG Hilarious! - Craigslist RuPaul's Drag Race

Omg, when I saw this Craigslist ad, I literally fell on the floor laughing.  OMG - it's Hilarious!  I guess it's hilarious, because my friends, Rene, Michael, Guillermo and Kent watch this show after dinner with Ryan and I every week, so it makes it much funnier.

I especially love this part...

No attitudes. It's Drag Race for heaven sakes. Maybe tonight we will get to hear the LAST "hallelu"!

My friends are going to love this!

Gay Ads That Matter - Issue No. 003

This is a powerful video and I believe that as adults, we need to be more active in the lives of our children and make more of an effort to allow our young people to be who they are. Our children reach out to us to teach and help them grow.  They need to be shown and told how much we love them no matter what their sexual orientation is.

As adults we need to act like one, and stop perpetuating hate, intolerance, and violence. When does it stop? It's no wonder why so many LBGT youth either run away, hurt themselves, or end their lives prematurely.

I wish to express my thanks for this video, and it's message.  It's time for the young people to hold their heads up high and say we won't be afraid any longer.

Gay Ads That Matter - Issue No. 002

In my second issue of Gay Ads That Matter, I bring you a commercial from Israel.  A powerful commercial with a powerful message; and the way it was done was brilliant.   

The lyrics to the song featured in this commercial are:

Come to the water,
The era of shame is over,
Come to the water,
The era of denial is over,
Teach me to swim,
To float,
When I grow up,
I'm going to be like everyone else
And I'll have a great love
That'll wait for me in the world
With stars
On the most beautiful jacket in the city,
To use and to return.

At the end of the commercial, the Hebrew words translate into: "Cleaning Up The Closet"

It saddens me that Israel, a small middle eastern country, is far more advanced than our United States of America.

I pray each day for a better tomorrow. 

Doritos Gay Superbowl Ads Will Not Air

Remember those 2 Doritos ads I posted earlier this week?


Frito-Lay has decided to distance themselves from them and say they are finding a way to have them removed from YouTube as soon as possible.

The ads were actually a part of a "Crash the Superbowl" contest, where thousands of entrepeneurs submitted videos and were judged by a panel of judges.  Frito-Lay Director of Public Relations Chris Kuechenmeister said that the contest’s judges sought to “identify spots that were appropriate for everyone” and “observe a level of respect for everybody.” Can I throw up now? The only ones who would hate these ads would be the small percentage of conservatives who think that anything gay is wrong.  You can see the commercials here and here.  Read more about all this drama at The Advocate.

Gay Ads That Matter - Issue No. 001

I would like to start another series on my blog with a focus on advertisements addressing gay issues, titled Gay Ads That Matter.  Over the years, I've seen MTV, Magazines like OUT, Instinct or The Advocate, post ads about issues involving our gay youth, couples, parents, etc..  And some of these ads are truly, truly amazing.

Starting with the first Issue, I bring you an ad from the pro-gay nation of Israel.  As you may already know, Israel is a full democracy and have accepted gays whole-heartedly through the years. They also have one of the highest percentages of support for same-sex marriages in the world, while they have not officially been sanctioned in the country, they do recognize marriages performed elsewhere.

Click on the image to enlarge and read this gay ad that matters.