Advertising Week NYC - Celebration or Serious?
Posted by: MikeNY
The 5th annual Advertising Week conference has more discussion of issues, but had no mention of gay/lesbian issues or homophobia even while Advertising Age critic Bob Garfield has drawn attention to industry troubles, in addition to the NYC Human Rights Commission holding hearings about the lack of diversity in the industry. Should the conference be more issues-oriented?
CoverGirl Ellen DeGeneres
Posted by: MikeNY
What great news that Ellen DeGeneres will show everyday women that lesbians are not only smart and entertaining, they can be glamorous too! Now if only CoverGirl will start advertising TO lesbians!!
LGBT in Mainstream Ads
Posted by: Chris Michael
Harvey Fierstein once said that as far as getting out there and being seen, even bad publicity was good publicity.
I think that the more daily something becomes, the more common, the less mystery it carries. Two hundred years ago, black men were sex-crazed animals who should be barred from proper society, a hundred years ago the Jews were bent on controlling the world's media -- even JFK's presidential campaign was hindered in part by the nation's concern about a Catholic in the Oval Office.
Obviously fears like these seem ridiculous nowadays, and it's because the barriers have been broken down. We see them, so we know them; there's no mystery anymore. The end goal for any ad is to change consumer behaviour about a product -- but advertisers are also moulding public opinion. An ad works because it's a refreshing take on a preexisting public conception. By hyping or deflating that conception, advertisers can lift taboos -- many times without people realising that their perceptions are changing. And that is a very powerful sword to wield.
