Oakland Dealership's Lesbian Couple Ad Tests Remaining Shock Value Of Same-Sex Couples
OAKLAND (CBS SF) - An Oakland Car dealership's new ad campaign is turning some heads by featuring a lesbian couple, while prompting others to ask, "what's the big deal?"
One Toyota Of Oakland has begun running and ad highlighting the transparency of their ad campaign which begins with a woman in the driveway bragging on the phone to her partner about what a great car she got at the dealership.
"Honey, I know I told you to meet me at the dealership, but I bought the car," says the actress, who says the process was simple. "I didn't even have to tell them I was married to an attorney."
She then urges the person on the phone to come outside. The ad ends when person is steps out and is revealed as another woman.
David Pippenger, whose Oregon-based Handcrafted Media created the ad, told the San Francisco Chronicle he believes the campaign to be a first and said he expected conservative backlash after the spot started airing, but has seen little more than a few jabs on the dealership's YouTube channel. Here's the full commercial:
Chronicle columnist C.W. Nevius describes the video as groundbreaking, and while it is certainly true that members of the LGBT community are under-represented on television other YouTube commenter don't seem all that shocked.
"WOW, what will be even cooler is when we don't even notice," said commenter William Robinson.
"Wish other dealerships would produce such tasteful ads. So tired of the screaming, insult your father and stupid gimmicks," Scruffy2469 said.
Management told the Chronicle that women influence 85 percent of Toyota purchases, and the lesbian-centered ad could help them better connect with that audience. Similarly, other recent commercials from the dealership rely on a "men are clueless" theme.
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The dealership says higher-ups at Toyota gave the commercial their blessing. In fact, this is not the first commercial featuring a surprise lesbian couple from the car-maker. Check out this clever 2008 ad from Canada:
Is this groundbreaking or just smart marketing? Please leave a comment below.