Last month, General Motors ran a gay-themed advertisement for the Chevy Volt in Detroit. With the trademark gay rainbow colors across the print ad, the text reads, “Whatever revs your engine, we support you 100%.” Adding some tongue-in-cheek flair is a caption above the Volt that proclaims, “Mom, Dad: I’m electric.” The ad was first published for $750 in the Motor City Pride edition of Between the Lines, a Michigan gay and lesbian newspaper. It then went on to be viewed 11 million times on social media channels.
“This was a good omen,” said Jan Stevenson, co-publisher of Between the Lines, in referring to the Volt ad. “They put their toe in the water, and it worked out really, really well. If anyone’s really paying attention to it, they would say, ‘Wow, this is an untapped market’.”
Gay and lesbian consumers prefer fuel-efficient cars and, unbeknownst to many, account for 5 percent of new car purchases; they also have an average household income in the six figures, which is higher than that of heterosexual households, according to a recent survey.
Automakers usually advertise to the gay community using niche methods, but the gradual acceptance of the community and the success of the Volt ad could signal more marketing is on the way — especially if the goal is to attract wealthy, educated, younger customers.
“The Volt ad “told us that this was something worth undertaking when the opportunities present themselves,” said GM spokesman Tom Henderson.
Perhaps more significant is the fact that the popularity of the Volt ad could signal a gradual return of gay-themed automotive advertising, something that was nearly abandoned since the 2009 financial crisis. Yet even if gay-focused advertising does make a comeback, customers still must purchase their vehicles at the final frontier — the dealer.
To the dismay of many, a recent Maritz Research survey found that nearly 8.3 percent of gay and lesbian car buyers were not satisfied with their experience at the car dealership, compared to 6 percent of heterosexual car buyers, signifying that advertising alone won’t lead to increased sales; instead, it’s about improving the entire sales process.
Did you see the Volt ad in question? If so, what did you think about it?
Comments
It could lead to an expansion of LGBT-themed advertising from OEMs. The time’s been ripe for a while, though.
boycott GM
The mom and dad are a cruze and Tahoe?! Traverse would have worked better.
I have nothing against any sexuality, but I don’t see, nor do I want to see this catch on. It’s clever once in a while, but it should not become a major theme. For starters, it kind of reminds me of a scam used by a politician to get more homosexual votes, or in this case car sales.
I strongly strongly dislike gays, and I really really hope this gay advertising stops immediately.
Why?
I won’t speak for Stanto27 (above), but my guess as to why Stanto27 “strongly, strongly dislikes gays” is because he or she is completely shut off from meeting or getting to know anyone from the LGBT Community. Our community is very diverse and if Stanto27 would unclench their ass and let the stick fall out, they might realize how silly and sad their views toward fellow human beings has been.
Manoli….Alex really got something started wiht this post! Glad Gm is doing what it should do to be the global player…good job
Leave the gays be and get a life..this is a car site after all
I think that the declining sales over the last year are the result of having products which are not competitive. I read somewhere that GM spends 3 billion a year on design and 13 billion on marketing and advertising. They need to reverse those figures. No one believes advertising. The power of traditional advertising has been declining as people are influenced by many new sources of information such as online peer ratings and reviews by product owners. Supermodels don’t swarm around you if you drive a Chevy Malibu. Gm are losing sales to Toyota and other companies because the other companies know that the experience of owning a car is a lot more than advertising and heavy handed styling. People care about reliability and maintenance requirements, about the engine life, about the cost of gas and many other things. GM are living in the past as a company. Soon they are going to need to deal with a flood of Chinese imports. Small sedans like the Chinese Cherry re selling in China and Tata in India for 2 to 3 thousand dollars. Tata own the Jaguar and Rover Brands. GM need to have products which people value like BMW to stay in business. The companies that were making mediocre products in the UK like Austin and Morris dies a long time ago.
I think someone else is living in the past, and its not GM.
I give all of you permission to slap me silly if you EVER see me in a BMW! If I am driving one, kill me. Wait, no, I will likely die of embarrassment before that happens.
great,Now my Brand I Love so Much (except the nationalization part-gvtmtrs) is now GayMotors 🙁
”Dad,Im a disappointment cause’ im a stupid Electric car.”
Disgusting.
Afaik LGBT oriented adverts can only be found in LGBT publications. Those adverts rarely “come out” into the rest of the world.
it still uses gas unlike the all electric leaf
”
Babersher
July 31, 2012 at 3:26 am
Reply
I think someone else is living in the past, and its not GM.”
Why are their sales declining? Firing the Marketing VP because their sales are falling is sticking their head in the sand. Next they will fire their advertising Director.They just can not make products as good as their competitors. As long as this continues their sales will continue to decline. Their solution is to reuse a design that was successful fifty years ago because they can’t think of something today.
Detroit is a wasteland they have to get their act together before it is too late. Who remembers these brands they were also living in the past. Which brands do you think will survive in the US?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Defunct_motor_vehicle_manufacturers_of_the_United_Kingdom
“great,Now my Brand I Love so Much (except the nationalization part-gvtmtrs) is now GayMotors 🙁 ”Dad,Im a disappointment cause’ im a stupid Electric car.”
Disgusting.”
You will be the last guy looking into an empty wallet in the gas station when everyone else is driving an electric car. They don’t have exhausts, oil, water, fan belts, and 50 other things that you need to keep fixing. The price of batteries will come down and then it will be possible to make electric cars much cheaper than gas cars.
Way to go GM. So glad you can acknowledge all your customers without fear of bigoted, bible thumping hippocrates. America. the only place where people want freedom for all but ONLY if you fall into their little, pathetic self loathing group.. Go ahead you so called christians teach your children to hate. Your Jesus gets the final word!!
Well said Randy . . . I couldn’t agree more!
Time to recharge leaf 20 hours. Time to gas up the Volt three minutes. That’s assuming you can find a gas station without a swarm of supermodels. AKA bowtie groupies.
Hey Randy, I am with you. I think gay people have the right to drive a GM car just as much as a Marlboro Man. Their money is as good at anyone else’s to keep a family employed in a factory in Detroit. In the mid west many people are afraid of gays as we know even one of our presidential candidates but in the coastal cities people are more tolerant and change with the times they are accepted. Even GM needs to change and get sales where they can to stay in business.
The Marlboro man was gay.
Can’t we leave politics and person sexual preferences out out this and talk cars for once????
Who cares if they are gay or not, just sell more Volts!
Chevrolet needs to “amp up” the Volt family.
How about a Volt Equinox? Ohm for one doubt they’ll have any resistance to that body style. Wattever GM does, the price has to come down!
I am just a hetero guy living in California but like tens of millions of other hetero and gay men here I don’t like the Marlboro Men cars GM keep coming up with.
I want to move on from 1968, have MP3 player, decent seats, a motor that lasts 350 thousand miles and something generally more sophisticated. I don’t want a truck. I will buy and electric car when the range and battery costs adjust which they will in time.
Wow, there’s only two reasons for anyone to express a dislike for a certain group of people: insecurity with your self or ignorance (fear of the unknown).
I don’t know of a single man secure with his sexuality who is worried about gays – especially since there are always heterosexuals making gay babies.
Also, the gays are better educated and have a higher disposable income. Any progressive business would be unwise not to court such a great demographic.
Start evolving straight men!
GM should make electric Corvettes
Wayne wrote: “The Marlboro man was gay.”
The mustache gave him away. Maybe there are more gay GM owners already than people suspect. Gay men in Michigan don’t always admit they are gay in case a Presidential candidate wants to hold them down and cut off their hair.
Why categorize a car as gay?? So what if gays are on average a little bit richer? They only make up like 8% of America! If you categorize a car as something, then people of other “categories” don’t really want to buy it anymore. And I don’t really care for gays either. It’s wrong…..
Actually the general consensus is 1-2% of the population is gay. Pop media and activism just makes it seem like every other person on the street is gay.
Exactly. I just said 8% because if I said 1%, these people would get angry.
I say good for GM and Chev. Ads tageted at homosexuals are nothing new, nor are ads targeted at other social minorities.
As for the bigots, I’ll give them a tip that’ll get them out of the bigotry the way it did for me nearly 12 years ago:
Once your identify the source of your bigotry, you’ll be amazed how easy it is to turn it off.
I don’t know how US car companies will compete with imports from China. There are about 50 Chinese car manufactures not counting the non Chinese companies like VW and Toyota.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chinese_cars
It seems to me that they will be forced to move their factories to China to stay in business. How else can Gm compete with Detroit labor around $50 per hour and Chinese labor around $1 to $3 per hour? The electric car industry is predicted to grow at 25% per yer for the next decade.
wow, this thread deteriorated quicker than i thought it would.
jzEllis “wow, this thread deteriorated quicker than i thought it would.”
This isn’t a useful contribution in a discussion thread.
Neither were many of the comments in this thread, so what’s your point?
“Neither were many of the comments in this thread, so what’s your point?”
My point is that you need the courage to defend a point of view if you post in a discussion thread.
Personally, I thought it was a worthwhile commentary on the state of the discussion. If JzEllis’s comment served no other value than preventing another bigotted comment from appearing then it had value in keeping the discussion on topic.
I think his comment has more value than those from Jo, Santo27 or Jose Lopez (who haven’t defended their comments) – none of which you responded to, btw.
Actually, I think JzEllis’ comment had as much value or more value than your comment on his observation. (courage? on the internet? haha!)
The subject of the article is undoubtedly polarizing, and warrants some healthy discussion on the merits of minority targeted advertizing. Maybe I’m having trouble following your grammar, but I don’t see how, chinese production or electric corvettes are relavent to this discussion on advertizing.
Back on topic, I think producing ads that target demographics who are more/most likely to purchase the product is a wise move and good use of ad dollars. Now if they published a Volt ad in west Texas targeting oil field roughnecks, that would be a waste. Properly focused ads probably have a greater effect than some mass media publications, as it is easier and probably cheaper to create multiple specific ads distributed to a small group than a few large circulation ads that only apeal to a small percentage of the viewers.
Here’s a useful contribution. Who thinks it’s time to bring back Pontiac? LOL
@ 99VetteGyrl you will have to send a photo so I’m sure that it’s you.
I think that adds targeting new possible customers including gay people are good idea for GM
I think advertising has been found to be of decreasing value generally by corporations because of long term changes in the way people get information towards sources that are more reliable and useful for consumers than advertising.
GM has some homophobic owners but there is little difference for me between this outlook and denying the Holocaust or burning crosses outside people’s houses. It belongs in the past.
My thinking on Pontiac is that GM had too many vehicles that were re branded clones of other vehicles that led to the company competing against itself. Over 100 models each with 10% of the deign budget that Toyota sends on far fewer models with meaningful differentiation. If Pontiac was really different and attracted new and different customers then it might have value.
The relationship of China to this discussion is that GM needs to make important strategic decisions about how they will be competitive. This is more important and more pressing than advertising to them. I think that it is likely that they will move away from commodity passenger cars towards luxury brands like Cadillac and differentiated models like the Corvette that they can charge more for. Models like the Chevy Malibu have a short future I think.
Ok. So this thread has gone way off topic. Why the crap are you talking about China or Pontiac??? But as I stated before, I don’t like gayness or anything to do with it. Sorry if I offend any of you. But I’m actually not too worried about this, because, luckily, the Volt is the only car in Chevys lineup that can be “classified” as gay (however they do that). So I really don’t think this advertising will pass on. And if they do, it will be in small numbers and in “gay” magazines. I just wish that GM wasn’t taking the lead in such stupid segments. I would be very happy if they just let Ford start this gay advertising. Haha then I’d get to laugh at them. GMs already closely tied to Obama, I don’t need to see any other connections.
“because, luckily, the Volt is the only car in Chevys lineup that can be “classified” as gay (however they do that).”
Since when has a car, ANY car, EVER, been considered ‘gay’?
As far as I know, cars have never been engineered with a sexual orientation, and never will.
It means that mostly gay people buy the car idiot
Yes, Josh….a lot of very sad comments on this subject…let’s move along
Yes Eric, we should move along. Will never understand what makes a man hate another man – but that negative energy really hurst themselves the most.
Back to our common love of cars!
Stanto, it is good that you have come out of the closet with you homophobia. How many gay men or women have you known?
Who cares about anyone’s personal life….I just want to get a nice new GM car
I don’t like gay people. I’m sorry I don’t agree with everyones beliefs. But being gay is just wrong. To ME!!! Its my opinion. Now I agree with Dan, lets get off this stupid subject and back to cars.
Stanto27 whenever anyone condemns a who group of millions of people without knowing them it is wrong. I don’t accept that you can dislike people that you don’t know. It was wrong when Hitler said he didn’t like Jews and it is just as wrong when you say that you don’t like Gays. Some people hide behind Christianity to justify such bigotry but I don’t believe that sort of intolerance was ever supported by Jesus. I think that you should talk about it rather than running away when it is raised. I think that you know also that it is wrong.
Nope. I fully unsupported gays. I think it’s morally wrong and I don’t usually like people that are openly gay.and not just because I’m Christain. As I said before, it’s just plain wrong.
I don’t think intolerance of gays comes from the Bible. It comes from the dark heart of man like all intolerance. Gays were born gay and like all other people who are born different to the majority I believe that we must accept them. You can get back to discussing cars. I have made my point.
I really don’t think gays are born homo
I recently saw a documentary that suggested that there is evidence that gay men have a gene that come from their mothers. There is a high incidence of gay me in families with unusually socially active mothers and very large families. It suggested that there is an evolutionary purpose in gayness. They were credible university researchers. If it is connected to a gene then discriminating against gay people is similar to discriminating against a race of people.. I can say that a gay man who I worked with said that he believed that he was born gay and that he considered it to be a burden in conservative and discriminatory US society. They are not out to get you. It is just the way that they are.
Well us ford owners can now confirm, chevy coming out the closet! LOL