Ever see that commercial where two guys are in bed kissing and one of them says, "I just love our new mattress, honey," and then the name of a popular department store appears on the screen?
No? That's because, in this country, there are no commercials showing two men in bed (much less kissing). That's something the Commercial Closet Association is trying to change.
Veteran advertising industry journalist Michael Wilke's mission is actually even broader. He created the nonprofit organization to both educate and influence the advertising industry to understand, respect and include LGBT references in advertising -- hoping to achieve a more accepting society and successful business results.
Yes, boundaries have yet to be crossed (such as the hypothetical commercial above). But since Wilke founded it five years ago, the organization has collected over 3,000 LGBT ads spanning 33 countries and 85 years in its library.
On November 20, the Commercial Closet Association presented its Corporate Visionary Honors in the historic 93-year-old New York Times Building (incidentally, one of the last events to be hosted there before the newspaper moves to its new home on Eighth Avenue). The CCA honored MTV Networks, which launched the 24-hour gay network LOGO last year; and the online travel company Orbitz.com, known for its gay-friendliness in courting the LGBT consumer.
Founder and Executive Director Michael Wilke spoke eloquently about the message Commercial Closet is sending to the public. The organization's intention is not to pressure companies to include gay references, but instead to show that gay-friendly ads are simply good for business. Wilke went on to say that the public is clearly interested in knowing more about LGBT-inclusive advertising -- evidenced by the 100,000 hits per month the CCA's Web site receives. Another of the organization's goals, he stressed, is encouraging advertisers to move away from stereotypes -- such as presenting bisexuals as duplicitous cheaters and defaulting to MTF, rather than also including FTM, transsexuals in ads featuring transpeople.
No awards presentation is complete without a celebrity, and in attendance was Cyndi Lauper, looking smashing with spiky blond hair and sporting a black dress with leopard-print tights. She was there as a presenter, but she also participated -- bidding on (and winning) an Olivia Resort vacation in the live auction earlier in the evening. As she presented the award to MTV, Lauper talked about the network's history of gay-friendly shows like "The Real World" and "Road Rules." She proudly announced that MTV brought LOGO into the homes of 20 million Americans, saying that although places like New York and L.A. are "getting the message," there are still challenges ahead in states like Kansas and Wyoming -- "despite a lovely movie called 'Brokeback Mountain'."
Accepting the award for MTV was Lisa Sherman, senior vice president and general manager of LOGO, who talked about the LGBT images MTV offered "prior to Ellen," like Pedro Zamora of "The Real World," back in 1994. She went on to say that MTV's decision to be LGBT-inclusive was "not about political correctness," but to be "truthful in the most authentic way possible," mentioning that LGBT images were "once invisible, but now visible, viable, and valued." Sherman also gave a quick rundown on future MTV endeavors -- including a lesbian surfing show next year.
Accepting the award for Orbitz was Randy Susan Wagner, chief marketing officer for Orbitz Worldwide. Wagner spoke about the many gay-inclusive print ads her company has run. She also showed clips from commercials, such as the very funny "Destination Orbitz" ad featuring gay marionettes. Wagner pointed out that Orbitz featured LGBT references on its home page and was proud of the fact that Orbitz "understands and supports inclusion."
The efforts of the Commercial Closet Association are still extremely important in the United States -- especially since many of the LGBT images on TV are only found on cable channels. Someday, gay and lesbian inclusion in network television ads will be reaching out to every home that has a television. Perhaps Wagner best summed it up when she pointed out that it's sad that the Corporate Visionary Awards need to exist, but she was very happy indeed to receive the honor.
