• by Ken Liebeskind , May 30, 2001

There isn't merely a preponderance of gay themed prime time TV shows these days. Now, there are even gay-themed commercials.

A website, Commercialcloset.org, launched earlier this month, is tracking them. The site, run by Michael Wilke, a business journalist, and built and hosted by Mediapolis, a Web engineering firm, is seeking to "out" Madison Avenue by chronicling hundreds of gay themed ads that not many people know about. The reason for the ignorance is that many of the ads only ran in the "trinity" of cities with heavy gay populations: New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. And many of the ads were restricted to the gay media or ran briefly and disappeared.

But the big news the site reports is that major advertisers are running gay themed spots today that are reaching a mainstream audience. Leading the pack is Miller Lite, which earlier this month began running a spot called "Switcharoo" in which two flirtatious women in a bar send beers to two single men who are next seen holding hands. The commercial sends an obvious gay themed message, unlike some of the commercials that Wilke terms neutral or gay vague.

The commercial, created by Ogilvy & Mather, is running on gay themed shows like "Will & Grace," but perhaps surprisingly it is also running on "ER" and ESPN sports shows. "They're pushing the envelope in terms of the media buy," Wilke says, "putting it into not just gay friendly situations but also in more macho situations in front of straight male beer drinkers."

Other gay themed TV commercials come from Minute Maid and Zima. Minute Maid's spot, created by Leo Burnett, began running in April. The Zima spot is brand new and Wilke hasn't seen it yet.

Marketers have begun to run gay themed ads because they stand out, Wilke says. "They create imagery and subject matter that has rarely been dealt with and provides them with new areas to mine that haven't been discussed much."

Beer companies were criticized in the mid-90s for running sexist ads that objectified women. Now they run ads that put women and even gays in stronger roles.

Scott Bussen, a Miller spokesman, says the "Switcharoo" ad tested well with men.

Commercialcloset.org devotes space to print advertising as well as TV, but almost all of the print appears in gay media. "There is little mainstream print with gay themes," Wilke says. "It lends itself better to TV because the shock value cuts through the clutter and makes it stand out."

When asked why media buyers should be interested in his website, Wilke said, "It effects what they do." Media buyers play an important role in gay themed advertising because they must place it. In the past, they have placed it in gay media or gay friendly cities, "but it looks like it's starting to change," Wilke says. "They're starting to bring it to a broader audience."

In the past, media buyers could fear reaction from conservative groups who would conduct letter writing campaigns and other protests whenever gay themed content appeared. But Wilke says there have been no recent complaints and he believes the climate is better.

His goal for the site is to make advertisers, agencies and media buyers more aware of gay themed advertising so they'll be willing to try it. "If their competitors do it, they can do it, too," he says. "My goal is for companies to have a more inclusive approach in their advertising."