• San Francisco Chronicle, Monday, June 26, 2006 11:30 AM

An increasing number of mainstream marketers are beginning to come out of the closet and directly target gay and lesbian audiences with gay-themed ads. While many companies have long advertised in gay-oriented publications and on gay-themed TV shows, the majority of those ads have been the same ones the advertisers run in traditional media. But now, more and more ads have gay-related themes and characters. "Typically, companies would come in, run their regular ads to get their feet wet, the same ads (they run) in other consumer books," said Todd Evans, CEO of Rivendell Media, a New Jersey company that represents gay media companies. "As they get more comfortable with it, they realize they don't have backlash, and they go that next step to have specific creative (content). ... That's big news, because to make specific creative is a very expensive proposition." In national gay and lesbian magazines, such as the Advocate and Out, where national brands dominate, gay-specific ads were more common last year, accounting for 74.1 percent of all advertising--up from 59.1 percent in 2004. The report said that's "a clear indication that the majority of national brands marketing to the gay and lesbian audience are creating unique advertising executions that appeal directly to these consumers' sensibilities and mind set."

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