Advertising is one of the biggest factors for any product’s success, so why not include all target audiences, even “the gays”?
Hai Ben Shushan was recently named “Man of the Year” (2003) for Israeli Magazine and can be found in many fashion photographs, including covers for magazines and even a project in Vogue! But a recent ad which featured him endorsing condoms, was condemned in Tel Aviv due to his sexual prefrence! The public transportation company, Dan Bus, refused public display of the ad. They obviously felt that, as a major company, transporting over 600,000 thousand citizens on a daily basis, supporting a gay advertisement would be entirely to risky.
Such controversy is not limited to foreign places. It has also been prevalent right here in the United States of America! BMW, Subaru, and Volvo have all encountered relevant issues, but each practiced varied approaches. Subaru and Volvo have both embraced the gay community by creating advertisements aimed directly at their audience. On the other hand, BMW refuses to follow the open-minded techniques. Despite their marketing in the gay communities, the BMW North America company is unwilling to provide domestic-partner benefits for their GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender) Employees.
Such actions by any country proves that no matter how popular a celebrity may be, or how good or educational the cause may be, if it is too risky or does not embody what a general society deems appropriate, they may face prejudice.
