In a recent poll taken for ESPN, reported by Outsports.com, a Web site for gay and lesbian sports fans (www.outsports.com), 17.5 percent of respondents said that an endorsement by an openly gay or lesbian athlete would make them less likely to buy a product. But 79 percent said it would have no effect -- and 3.5 percent said they would be "more likely" to buy the product.
"When the economy is difficult, the brand and the connection people have to it become more important," said Mitchell Gold, president at Gold in Taylorsville, North Carolina, owned by the Rowe Companies. "I want our brand to stand for style, and for doing the right thing."
"If someone doesn't want to buy our furniture because of our use of gays and lesbians in advertising, that's OK," Gold said. So far, he added, supportive letters and e-mails have outweighed the few nasty ones. The responses came to the Johnson ad and another recent ad centered on a family composed of a child and two fathers.
"The stereotypes are breaking down, and that's a breath of fresh air," said Todd Evans, president and chief executive at Rivendell Marketing in Westfield, New Jersey, which sells ad space for newspapers and magazines read by gay men and lesbians.
Using sports to market to them makes sense, Evans said, when you consider "that one of the biggest categories of advertisers in local gay publications is health and fitness clubs."
The editorial coverage in those publications devoted to health, fitness and sports topics also makes them "a great place" to advertise related products, he added. For instance, the Coca-Cola Co plans to advertise KMX, a new energy drink aimed at men ages 19 to 29, in the magazines and newspapers represented by Rivendell.
One reason for the trend is that "the traditional stereotype of gay men as `sissies' is being replaced with more athletic-looking images" as many of them become "very involved in sports and fitness, just like the rest of society," said Michael Wilke, executive director of Commercial Closet in New York. He operates a Web site (www.commercialcloset.org) offering an archive of marketing materials devoted to advertising for and about gays.
Many episodes of television series with gay and lesbian characters, like Will and Grace and Queer as Folk, include scenes set in gyms and fitness clubs, he added, depicting the main characters working out.
However, "some of this advertising is still pretty subtle," Wilke said, adding: "People looking at the Corey Johnson ad, unless they're well-read, might not know who he is. Though obviously Martina is much more familiar, and there's more awareness of the implications of her being part of the Subaru campaign."
And while "there remains quite a dearth of openly gay and lesbian athletes," Wilke said, "I would expect to see more, which would mean more depictions of athletes as part of the community."
Also abetting the trend, he added, laughing, would be "an increased willingness on the part of gay sports fans to be openly gay -- and openly sports fans."
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