(Take a look at the commercial here.)
If you look at the evidence, the answer is clearly yes. As times begin to progress, the amount of people in support for gay marriage increases, and in turn, the amount of people who are pro-gray rights increase as well. As journalist George Will stated, "quite literally, the opposition to gay marriage is dying." He's not lying, either. 57% of voters under the age of 30 are in support of gay marriage, as opposed to the 51% of the general American population. The the shift of power goes from old to young, so do the view points of the people. The fact that companies feel comfortable with displaying those who identify as gay under normal circumstances (that is, not using their sexuality as a joke or in a demeaning way) means that not only are steps being taken to improve the imbalance mainstream media has with representation, but that being in support of gay rights is no longer something that can ruin profits.
That's not to say that people won't be outraged, though. This can be noted quite clearly just by looking at the first page of comments. "It's a shame what the world is coming to!" and "being gay is a mental illness" are just a few of the anti-gay opinions being posted on the video. The amount of negative comments cannot compare to the positive feedback, though. "Thank you Amazon.. This really means a lot to me.. Simple things like these will create tolerance in the future." and "Awesome commercial." are the two top comments. Companies who decide to make this risky choice are almost guaranteed to lose customers, but the amount of people in support of their decision greatly outnumber those who criticize it. Commercials such as these have the power to change opinions and create new perspectives on ideas. The gay couple in the commercial are not used as a gimmick or the butt of the joke, they are simply displayed as a normal couple. This normalcy is what audiences need to see, and it is possibly what could be seen throughout the entire entertainment industry. If displaying the average buyer of a product as a gay man doesn't deter buyers, then perhaps the actors in commercials will begin to reflect the rest of America as well instead of adhering to the same principles that they always have. I have to say that personally, I am very proud of Amazon for making this bold decision that will undoubtedly be marked as a stepping stone for future equality.
Here are some LGBT commercials from over the years:
Italie, Leanne. "Ads out of Closet, into Mainstream with Gay Themes."Yahoo! News. Yahoo!, 6 Match 2013. Web. 07 March 2013.
Stephanopoulos, George. "George Will: ‘Quite Literally, The Opposition to Gay Marriage Is Dying’." ABC News. ABC News Network, 9 December 2012. Web. 07 March 2013.
Winter, Caroline. "Gay-Themed Ads Over the Years." Businessweek. Bloomberg, 28 February 2013. Web. 07 March 2013.
Wong, Curtis M. "Gay-Themed Ads Are Becoming More Mainstream." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 06 March 2013. Web. 07 March 2013.
"Kindle Paperwhite Commercial." Fargo Moorhead News, Sports and Weather. Forum Communications, 06 March 2013. Web. 07 March 2013.
WHOO! I love it! I mean, the best way to get people to stop hating the LGBT movement on principle is to show them that gay and transgender people are literally just people, with slightly different tastes as to who they choose to have a relationship with and who they feel they are as a person. I feel like a lot of people who are against gay rights or don't feel like gay people are "normal" don't know anyone who is gay and since people have a natural fear towards the unknown and the different, that fear gets translated into hate. I love that commercials are starting to feature LGBT people because, like people of different races, they are people too, and should be represented in the media. It makes me happy that there are companies and people in this world that aren't perpetuating the hate that some seem to have towards people that are different.
ReplyDeleteI've seen that first commercial before, and I loved it! No matter if you are pro-gay or not, a company should realize that customers are customers. I feel it's great that Amazon did this on a personal level, but I also think that it's a great move for them on a commercial level because, as you said, pro-gay supporters are on the rise and if they see a commercial like that, they are obviously going to feel a personal connection to amazon and hence will be more likely to buy the product. Furthermore, I know some who are as pro-gay as others, but most of them aren't intense and radical in their views, so such a commercial would definitely not bother them. Therefore, if you add the neutral ones, and the pro-gay rights ones, it's going to outnumber the ones who will view the commercial negatively.
ReplyDeleteI was absolutely ecstatic when I saw the Amazon Kindle commercial, I actually had to press rewind on my tv to make sure I wasn't seeing things! Commercials are meant to appeal to everyone and that includes the LGBT community. This is a huge stepping stone when it comes to sexual equality and equality in general. By making advertisements more open and including people from all sorts of races, sexualities, and ethnicities, it allows for the ad to be presented everyone rather than a select few. I feel like in a sense it's kind of like these companies are making sure that no one is left behind.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me extremely happy to see this type of advertising. In a world where people who dislike an issue (in this case gay marriage) tend to yell louder than those who support it, it is nice to see that people making big decisions are attempting to establish same-sex relationships as something that is normal. I personally believe that the majority of the people that have issues with gays have had anti-gay influences (through their parents or others) throughout their lives and advertising like this will hopefully show these people how ridiculous their hate is.
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