ENTIRELY COMFORTABLE WITH ITS ORIENTATION: SUBARU’S SUCCESSFUL HISTORY OF GAY/LESBIAN INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS ppt

CASE STUDY


ENTIRELY COMFORTABLE WITH ITS ORIENTATION:
SUBARU’S SUCCESSFUL HISTORY OF GAY/LESBIAN INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS


01/05/2010

ABSTRACT:
This case study examines an integrated marketing communications success story:
Subaru’s 14-year unwavering, authentic relationship with the gay and lesbian communities
during which sales have doubled. Subaru reached out to the gay and lesbian consumers in 1995,
beginning with corporate sponsorship of the Rainbow Card, followed by gay and lesbian-specific
advertising campaigns and numerous strategic sponsorships. Subaru’s corporate communication
efforts were and continue to be revolutionary considering U.S. public opinion of gays and
lesbians at the time, the potential for consumer backlash, and the media landscape. Subaru’s
activities are compared with outreach from the Ford Motor Co., including the latter’s
mishandling of a boycott by the American Family Association (AFA).
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Overview………………………………………………………………………………………… 4
The U.S. Automotive Industry…………………………………………………………………….5
Industry Marketing Expenditures…………………………………………………………6
Brief History of Gay and Lesbian Marketing………….………………………………………….7
Providing Context: Gay Marketing, Circa 1996………………………………………… 9

IKEA, AT&T, and John Hancock Receive Conservative Backlash………….………….10
Gay and Lesbian Automotive Ads…………………………….…………………………10
Subaru………… ……………………………………………………………………………….11
Company History…………………………………………………………………… 11
Sales Figures…………… ……………………………………….…………………… 12
2010 Product Lineup…………… …………………………………………….……… 13
Market Research Reveals Lesbian Niche Market……… ………………………… ….13
External Communication Efforts……………………………………………………… 14
Profile of a Subaru Owner: Brand Loyalty…………………………………………… 14
Brief History of Subaru’s Gay and Lesbian IMC Efforts……………….……….…… 15
Founding Sponsor of Rainbow
Card……………………………………….…….15
Progressive Advertising in Gay Media……………………………………….….15
Sponsoring Gay and Lesbian Events……………………….……………………17
TV Brand Integration: Team Eco-Subaru and The L Word…………… …… 17
Partnering for AIDS Research………………………………………………… 18
Founding Sponsor of Sirius OutQ and Logo…………………………….………18
Gay Organizations Recognize Subaru’s Efforts…………………………………… … 19
Consumer Feedback for Gay and Lesbian Outreach…………………………… …….20
Increased Sales Due to Outreach…………………………………………………… ….21
Ford Motor Company……………………………………………………………………………21
Ford’s Gay-Friendly History………………………………………………………….….21
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Gay Organizations Recognize Ford’s Efforts………………………………………… 22
Jaguar, Volvo, and Land Rover Begin Advertising in Gay Media…………………… 23
AFA Boycotts Ford for “Homosexual Agenda”……………………………………… 24
Contrasting Subaru and Ford Motor Company………………………………………………… 26
Subaru’s Current Dilemma: IMC Sustainability…………………………………………………27
Appendix I……………………………………………………………………………………….28

Appendix II………………………………………………………………………………………29
Appendix III………………………………………………………………………………….… 30
Appendix IV……………………………………….…………………………………………… 31
Appendix V………………………………………………………………………………………32
Appendix VI…………………………………………………………………………………… 34
References…………………………………………………………………………………… 35














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ENTIRELY COMFORTABLE WITH ITS ORIENTATION
a
:
SUBARU’S SUCCESSFUL HISTORY OF GAY/LESBIAN INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

Companies can’t just throw one ad at gay consumers and think they’re done.
– Mike Wilke, Founder and former Executive Director of the Commercial Closet Association
1

OVERVIEW
In 1994, Subaru’s market research team discovered a core consumer base they had not
previously identified: lesbians. Market research indicated that lesbian Subaru owners had a high
socioeconomic status and an active lifestyle, complimenting Subaru’s four existing consumer
bases,
2
and were four times as likely as their heterosexual counterparts to own a Subaru.
3
Armed
with this knowledge, in 1995 Subaru embarked on a new integrated marketing communication
strategy designed to reach lesbians and gay men. The first step was corporate sponsorship of the
Rainbow Card, followed by gay and lesbian-specific advertising executions and numerous
strategic sponsorships.
Despite the myriad industries advertising in gay media circa 1996, relatively few
companies overall were willing to risk potential consumer backlash, particularly traditionally
conservative automotive companies. IKEA, AT&T, and John Hancock all received intense
consumer backlash for their gay and lesbian marketing efforts and pulled their campaigns
immediately, causing other companies to avoid the market altogether. To understand the risk
involved in Subaru’s decision, a brief history of gay and lesbian marketing is included, with
special emphasis placed on the automotive industry.
During Subaru’s 14-year history with the gay and lesbian communities, the company has
cultivated an unwavering, authentic relationship with key external stakeholders. While Ford
Motor Company has also partnered with the gay and lesbian communities for over a decade, its
track record is troubled. Ford was entangled in a 2005-06 battle over gay advertising with two
opposing stakeholders: the conservative American Family Association (AFA) and numerous gay
organizations. Despite its gay-friendly outreach, Ford handled the boycott in a secretive, indirect
manner that led to many questions – from both stakeholder groups.
To understand why Ford was the target of a boycott while Subaru was not, four factors

should be considered: 1) sizes of the Japanese and American auto manufacturers; 2) sales; 3)
target markets; and 4) ad spending.
As competition increases and more automotive companies are developing relationships
with gay and lesbian stakeholders, Subaru will need to retain its competitive advantage using
corporate communication tactics. In the highly competitive automotive industry, it is necessary
for Subaru to prove that its IMC strategy is sustainable into the next decade as well. Furthermore,
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a
This phrase is a tagline used in a 1998 Subaru print advertisement. See Appendix I."
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Subaru needs to grow its consumer base by pursuing other niche markets without damaging the
relationships it has cultivated thus far.

THE U.S. AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY
According to JD Power and Associates, there are over 40 automotive makers selling
vehicles in the United States today.
4
The United States, the largest market for light vehicles in
the world, saw sales of over 13.2 million vehicles in 2008. One year prior, sales exceeded 16.1
million vehicles.
5
See Table I for a breakdown of 2008 U.S. sales by company:

Source: Ward’s Automotive
6

The automotive industry, one of the largest manufacturing industries in the United States
today, has been in turmoil for the past few years due to factors such as the economic recession,
increased oil prices, and poor management decisions. By February 2009, U.S. automotive sales

were the lowest they had been in the past 25 years.
7
American-owned General Motors and
Chrysler received a combined $17.4 billion bailout from the U.S. government in December
2008.
8
A few months later, Chrysler filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 30, 2009;
9
General
Motors followed suit on June 1, 2009.
10

In 2008, Japanese auto manufacturers led U.S. sales, comprising 47.5% of the market.
American manufacturers comprised 34.8% of total U.S. sales, followed by other foreign imports
(primarily European) at 17.7%.
11

To stimulate sales, the U.S. government initiated the car allowance rebate system
(CARS) on July 1, 2009,
12
commonly referred to as “cash for clunkers.” Under the program, in
exchange for trading in a drivable vehicle 25 years old or newer that received 18 miles per gallon
or fewer, consumers could receive a credit of between $3,500-$4,500 on the purchase of a new,
more fuel efficient vehicle.
13
The program lasted until August 25, 2009; 700,000 vehicles were
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traded in for government rebates totaling $2.9 billion.
14

Japanese manufacturers accounted for 7
of the top 10 models purchased under the stimulus program.
15


INDUSTRY MARKETING EXPENDITURES
Automotive companies typically devote approximately 10% of their total sales revenues
to marketing efforts, of which advertising comprises just one portion. However, due to the
economic recession and rising fuel costs, both of which have significantly reduced new auto
sales in the latter part of the decade, automotive companies have spent an average of 14% of
their total sales revenues on marketing efforts.
16

The automotive industry is the leader in total ad spending,
17
allocating nearly $10.1
billion to advertising in 2008. Despite a decrease of 15.5% over 2007’s expenditures, the
industry continues to lead ad spending even in its current economic state.
18
Ad spending for the
top 10 product categories is shown in Chart I:

Chart I:
2007-08 Top 10 Advertiser’s, By Product Category
Product Category
2008
(millions)
2007
(millions)
Automotive (Factory & Dealer Assoc.)

$10,016.1
$11,854.4
Pharmaceuticals
$4,344.1
$5,325.3
Local Auto Dealerships
$4,198.3
$4,604.6
Quick Service Restaurants
$4,080.5
$3,932.8
Department Stores
$3,809.9
$3,994.2
Wireless Telephone Services
$3,431.4
$3,731.6
Motion Pictures
$3,322.1
$3,750.6
Direct Response Products
$2,576.9
$2,358.9
Restaurants
$1,618.6
$1,619.4
Furniture Stores
$1,580.8
$1,636.2
Total: Top 10 Product Categories

$39,060.0
$42,808.1
Source: The Nielsen Company
19


Five automotive companies made it onto Nielsen’s 2008 list of top advertisers, across all
industries – GM, Toyota, Ford, Honda, and Chrysler. See Chart II for a complete breakdown of
top 10 companies’ 2007-08 ad spending, in millions:


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Chart II:
2007-08 Top 10 Advertiser’s, By Parent Company
Parent Company
2008
(millions)
2007
(millions)
Proctor & Gamble Co.
$2,848.2
$3,531.1
General Motors Corp.
$2,117.7
$2,488.6
AT&T Inc.
$1,662.7
$1,792.1
Verizon Communications Inc.

$1,614.8
$1,636.3
Toyota Motor Corp.
$1,555.0
$1,665.0
Ford Motor Co.
$1,416.1
$1,981.6
Johnson & Johnson
$1,211.0
$1,280.1
Time Warner Inc.
$1,077.4
$1,411.4
Honda Motor Co.
$1,016.6
$1,045.9
Cerberus Capital Management
$1,002.6
$1,456.7
Average Ad Spending
$1,552.2
$1,828.8
Source: The Nielsen Company
20


BRIEF HISTORY OF GAY AND LESBIAN MARKETING
To reach niche markets efficiently and cost-effectively, marketers run ads in niche media
and/or sponsor events unique to that market. When companies began reaching out to gay men

and lesbians in the 1980s, they ran ads in gay print media and sponsored gay/lesbian pride
events.
21
Later, “gay marketing” expanded into mainstream media by including gay and/or
lesbian spokespersons in ads,
b
without necessarily targeting the niche markets.
22
As will be
discussed later in the study, while Subaru has largely tailored its efforts to gay and lesbian media,
Subaru has crossed over into mainstream media, most notably by using a lesbian spokeswoman:
tennis champion Martina Navratilova.
23

Financial data about ads featured in gay and lesbian media was first collected in 1994,
through the joint efforts of New York-based multicultural advertising agency Prime Access and
New Jersey-based media placement firm Rivendell Media, Inc. Titled The Gay Press Report, the
firms jointly publish an annual “state of the industry” report with breakdowns of ad spending in
gay media.
As illustrated in Table II, ad spending more than tripled between 1994 and 2007 from $53
million to $182 million, respectively. As with mainstream media, gay and lesbian media felt the
financial impact of September 11, 2001, as companies poured less money into advertising, and
again from 2007 to the present, as the U.S. battles an economic recession. Prior to the recession,
2006 saw record-breaking revenues of $223.3 million, no doubt impacted by MTV Networks’
introduction of Logo, a cable television channel that provided marketers with direct access to
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b
"An example of this type of mainstream advertising is the 2009 CoverGirl Simply Ageless campaign; Ellen, an out
lesbian, is featured in the campaign, but lesbians are not the primary market.
"

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millions of gay men and lesbians. See Table II for a historical overview of ad spending in gay
and lesbian media:


Source: Prime Access, Inc.
24

Table III illustrates the percentage change in ad revenue between each year. 1997 and
2000 both saw large increases, upwards of 36%, illustrating the pre-9/11 boom:


Source: Prime Access, Inc.
25

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PROVIDING CONTEXT: GAY MARKETING, CIRCA 1996
Around 1996, when Subaru began advertising to the gay and lesbian communities,
companies in several industries were targeting gay and lesbian consumers, namely:
• Alcohol:
o Absolut Vodka (1987)
26

o Miller Brewing (1987)
27

o Tuaca (1995)
28

o Bud Light (1996)
29

o Sauza Tequila (1998)
30

o Beefeater Gin (1998)
31

o Johnnie Walker Red Label Scotch (1999)
32

• Financial:
o Wells Fargo (1980s)
33

o AMEX (1992)
34

o Aetna (1998)
35

o Chase Manhattan Corporation (1998)
36

o Citibank (1998)
37

o Merrill Lynch & Company (1998)

38

• Furniture:
o IKEA (1994)
39

• Telecommunications:
o AT&T (1994)
40

• Apparel:
o Diesel jeans (1995)
41

o 2(x)ist underwear (1996)
42

o Levi’s (1999)
43

• Airline:
o Virgin Atlantic (1995)
44

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o United Airlines (1997)
45

• Tobacco:

o R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. (1996)
46

o Philip Morris (1999)
47

• Computer:
o IBM (1997)
48

• Pharmaceuticals:
o Merck (1997)
49

o SmithKline Beecham and Abbott Laboratories (1997)
50

o Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (1997)
51

• Insurance:
o The Hartford (1998)
52

o John Hancock (2000)
53



Despite the wide array of industries advertising in gay media, relatively few companies

overall were willing to risk potential consumer backlash, particularly automotive companies.
Harry Taylor, publisher of leading gay magazine Out, explained that automotive companies
“politely declined” Out’s request for ads in 1996.
54


IKEA, AT&T, AND JOHN HANCOCK RECEIVE CONSERVATIVE BACKLASH
Marketers may have been reluctant to advertise in gay media based on the backlash
experienced by IKEA, AT&T, and John Hancock. After running a mainstream television
commercial featuring a gay couple in 1994, IKEA received a bomb threat at one of its stores.
Kathy Delaney, President/Chief Creative Officer of Deutsch (IKEA’s ad agency) explained, “We
knew it was going to be a polarizing decision but we thought it was the right one.” IKEA ceased
using same-sex couples in its television advertising until 2006 when the company debuted a
second commercial featuring a gay couple, this time with a child in tow.
55

Also in 1994, AT&T sent direct mail pieces with tailored messaging to gay and lesbian
consumers for the first time. Conservative organizations learned of the telecom company’s
marketing activities and protested. AT&T pulled the campaign after mailing one piece of
collateral,
56
steering clear of the market until 1999.
57

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After running an ad during a 1994 episode of Roseanne that featured a kiss between
Mariel Hemmingway and Roseanne Barr, Mazda received stern disapproval from conservative
viewers.
58

Fearing a repeat of earlier events, Mazda – owned by the Ford Motor Company –
pulled advertising from Ellen DeGeneres’ 1997 “coming out” episode on the sitcom Ellen. Linda
Colleran, Senior VP/Media Director at Foote, Cone & Belding, Mazda’s agency of record at the
time, explained, “It’s not the Ellen character - I like to see TV reflect reality – it’s all the press
around it.”
59
Following Mazda’s precedent, GM and Chrysler also pulled ads scheduled to run
during the now famous Ellen episode. Before pulling out, Chrysler created a special toll-free
number in anticipation of intense viewer backlash.
60

In 2000, insurance company John Hancock featured two lesbian mothers in a TV ad and
referenced the couple’s newly adopted baby. After its initial run, John Hancock edited future
versions of the commercial to appease conservative protesters. Refuting the fact that the
company had given into protestors, Stephen Burgay, VP of Advertising and Corporate
Communications at John Hancock argued, “We don’t target a segment. We speak to a need, an
emotion, a financial uncertainty or opportunity.”
61


GAY AND LESBIAN AUTOMOTIVE ADS
In November 1994, Saab, a Swedish luxury car manufacturer owned by GM, made
history as the first automotive company to run an ad in gay and lesbian media. The ad was
featured in Genre magazine
62
and then Out magazine the following month.
63

Six months later, Saturn – also owned by GM – broke into gay and lesbian media with an
advertisement in Out.

64
But after just one ad, Saturn ceased advertising in gay and lesbian media
for nearly 4 years.
65
The impact of Saturn’s one ad was phenomenal: gay men and lesbians
selected Saturn as their automobile brand of choice in a Simmons Market Research Bureau study
conducted shortly after the press run.
66

In March 1996, Subaru followed Saab and Saturn’s lead when it began advertising in gay
newspapers.
67
Despite not being the first automotive company to target gays and lesbians,
Subaru holds the record for the longest consistent history of gay and lesbian advertising.
68

Furthermore, Subaru was first in the automotive industry to design gay- and lesbian-specific ad
creative, rather than running the same ads featured in mainstream publications.
69
Subaru’s efforts
bucked the trend of automotive ads at the time that were arguably formulaic and conservative,
consisting of one-dimensional depictions of “winding roads, dream sequences, and red cars.”
70

Volkswagen stepped in to fill the void left by Mazda, GM, and Chrysler during Ellen,
airing its famous “Da Da Da” spot in 1997. Although VW spokesperson Tony Fouldapour
declined to admit gay undertones by stating “a lot of our commercials can be seen differently by
people…we’re saying there’s no real (straight) story behind it either,” members of the gay
community interpreted the commercial as a subtle inclusion of gay imagery.
71

The commercial
was the first of what would later become known as “gay vague” advertising, a term coined by
Mike Wilke, a former writer for Advertising Age and founder of the non-profit Commercial
Closet Association. Gay vague refers to ads in which the actors/models’ sexuality can be
interpreted differently depending upon the viewer.
72

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German-owned BMW, despite awareness that gay men accounted for a portion of their
sales, declined to advertise to the community. As KarenVonder Meulen, former Sports and
Cultural Communications Manager for BMW, stated in 2001, “We don’t do any specific
targeting to the gay community. The community already purchases our cars without having to
target them individually.”
73

In 2004, GM’s Cadillac began advertising in The Advocate and Out.
74
Following
Cadillac’s lead, Audi created an ad in 2004 featuring lesbian songstress k.d. lang, under the
tagline “Never follow.”
75


SUBARU
After providing an overview of the U.S. automotive industry and a brief history of gay
and lesbian marketing, the focus now shifts to Subaru.

COMPANY HISTORY
Fuji Heavy Industries, Ltd. (FHI), is the parent company of Subaru. FHI’s roots extend

back to 1917 with the founding of Nakajima Aircraft Co., Ltd., a manufacturer and distributor of
aerospace equipment.
76
Nakajima Aircraft Co. was renamed Fuji Sangyo Co., Ltd. in 1945, and
eight years later, on July 15, 1953, FHI was created as a result of a six-way merger.
77

Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, and led by President Ikuo Mori, today FHI manufactures
equipment for four business units: Aerospace, Automotive, Eco-Technologies, and Industrial.
78

Inspired by a “cluster of stars in the Taurus constellation” named Subaru, FHI’s first
president, Kenji Kita, decided to name the newly-created automotive business Subaru in 1958.
Subaru of Japan was founded on one automobile model: the Subaru 360. Employing techniques
used in aerospace engineering, Subaru released a second model in 1966 – the Subaru 1000 – that
featured a “horizontally opposed engine.” The Subaru 1000 was the first mass-produced
automobile in the world to feature front-wheel-drive; it was soon followed by the 1972
introduction of all-wheel-drive (AWD), a feature that would become standard on all Subaru
vehicles.
79

In 1968, Subaru of America (SOA) was founded as the U.S. automotive extension of
FHI.
80
In March 1987, Subaru partnered with Isuzu Motors Limited to create Subaru-Isuzu
Automotive (SIA), a joint venture based in Lafayette, IN. The joint venture dissolved in January
2003 as Subaru-Isuzu Automotive transitioned to Subaru of Indiana Automotive.
81
In October
2005, Toyota Motor Corporation announced its purchase of an 8.7% stake in FHI from General

Motors.
82
GM owned 20.1% of Subaru’s parent company at the time, which is had purchased in
1999.
83
In 2005, GM sold its remaining shares back to FHI.
84
In 2007, Toyota started building
Camrys at the SIA plant.
85

Currently headquartered in Cherry Hill, NJ, the private subsidiary of FHI has over 600
dealerships nationwide and two distributors.
86
In addition to the NJ headquarters, Subaru has five
regional offices in Atlanta, GA, Denver, CO, Westhampton, NJ, Itasca, IL, and Portland, OR.
87

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Yoshio Hasunuma is the Chairman, President and CEO of Subaru of America, appointed on
April 16, 2009.
88


SALES FIGURES
Based on annual report data, Subaru’s sales increased steadily between 1996 and 2002.
Between 2002 and 2009, sales have remained relatively constant, hovering around 200,000
units.
89

Refer to Table IV for a 16-year history of sales figures:

Source: Fuji Heavy Industries, Ltd.
90

During the first two quarters of 2009, Subaru sales increased by 4% while industry-wide
sales nose-dived 32%.
91
Subaru saw a 41% year-to-date sales increase in October 2009 as
compared to October 2008.
92
In August 2009, Subaru enjoyed the best sales month in the history
of the company by selling 28,683 automobiles, marking a 52% increase over August 2008
sales.
93
According to Tim Mahoney, CMO and Senior VP of Subaru, “One of the reasons we are
doing relatively well in this dismal auto market is that we know who we are and we speak of
things that are relevant to our customers.”
94


2010 PRODUCT LINEUP
Subaru offers six models in its 2010 product lineup, including the Impreza, WRX,
Legacy, Outback, Forester, and Tribeca, consisting of sedans, wagons, and cross-over vehicles.
Ranging in list price from $17,000-$37,000 with a fuel economy of 21-30 miles per gallon and
seating for 5-7 passengers, nearly all models are available in either manual or auto transmission,
with the exception of the Tribeca (auto only) and the Impreza WRX (manual only).
95

Subaru is a proverbial small fish in the large pond that is the U.S. automotive industry,

currently representing just 2.2% of U.S. automotive sales.
96
To further illustrate this point, in
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2007 Honda sold more CR-Vs alone (219,160 units) than all Subaru’s models combined
(190,276).
97


MARKET RESEARCH REVEALS LESBIAN NICHE MARKET
By the early-1990s, Subaru had established four core consumer bases – healthcare
professionals, educators, IT professionals, and outdoor enthusiasts. Through market research
findings in 1994, Subaru discovered a fifth core base: lesbians.
98
As Tim Bennett, Subaru’s
Director of Marketing at the time stated, “Anecdotally, we found that there were women heads of
households that purchased our cars, and … in most cases they identified as lesbian.”
99
Market
research indicated that lesbian Subaru owners had a high socioeconomic status and an active
lifestyle, complimenting Subaru’s four existing consumer bases,
100
and were four times as likely
as their heterosexual counterparts to own a Subaru.
101
Subaru did not disclose how much it spent
on the proprietary research.
102

As Rick Crosson, Subaru’s VP of Marketing at the time asserted, “The gay and lesbian
community had already found us – particularly the lesbian community. They had already
selected us as a car that they used, that fit their lifestyle.”
103
But instead of sweeping the findings
under the rug, Subaru decided to target both lesbians and gay men, a move that was rare in 1995
regardless of the industry.
An unnamed Subaru spokesperson revealed in 1996 that “three years ago we were trying
to be a competitor in the mainstream and that wasn’t working.”
104
At the time, Subaru’s sales
comprised less than 2% of all U.S. automobile sales, in an industry dominated by the Big Three
(Ford, GM, and Chrysler) who were responsible for 75% of all U.S. sales.
105
John Nash, Creative
Director of Moon City Productions, commented on the lesbian discovery: “Lesbians were
fiercely loyal customers of Subaru, and their word of mouth was like gold.”
106

EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION EFFORTS
Carmichael Lynch is currently handling Subaru’s advertising, media planning, and media
buying.
107
Subaru had previously partnered with DDB Worldwide but decided to change shops
on October 17, 2007, based on CMO Mahoney’s previous success in working with Carmichael
Lynch while serving as Porsche’s VP of Marketing. For gay and lesbian-specific marketing
efforts, Subaru had used Mulryan-Nash until the shop closed in 1999;
108
as of 2000, Subaru has
employed Moon City Productions, a New York-based agency specializing in gay and lesbian

creative.
109
Although Subaru has typically used Moon City Productions to market its products to
the gay and lesbian communities, in 2007 the company used the agency for a 2008 Impreza
WRX general market campaign.
110

Most public relations efforts are handled in house, led by CMO Tim Mahoney and
Michael McHale, Director of Corporate Communications. In referencing Subaru’s relationship
with the automotive media, McHale stated in 2007 that Subaru was “well-known and liked.”
111

Subaru’s total ad spending has risen consistently over the past 17 years. Since Subaru is a
private company that does not publicly release its ad spending figures, a snapshot of ad spending
gathered from industry articles is shown in Table V:
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Source: AdAge
112


PROFILE OF A SUBARU OWNER: BRAND LOYALTY
Mickey Kaus, automotive expert and author of automotive columns on Slate.com,
compared Subaru owners to Volvo owners in 2005, stating that Subaru represents what Volvo
used to be – a trusted, yet financially-obtainable vehicle for consumers who value performance
and longevity.
113
In 2008, John Colasanti, CEO of Carmichael Lynch, confirmed Kaus’ claims

and discussed the brand loyalty of Subaru owners in the New York Times. Through extensive
market research, Subaru’s agency or record discovered that Subaru owners tend to drive their
vehicles for longer periods of time, as compared to other car brands. Colasanti added, “They see
their car as an enabler, an accomplice on their journey of life, and the more experiences you
have, the deeper the relationship you have with the vehicle.”
114

Wes Brown, a marketing analyst who has worked with Subaru for over a decade, explains
that current sales increases are not a fluke. Based on findings from earlier research in Portland,
OR, Subaru customers are more likely to pay for their vehicles in cash and complete their
paperwork ahead of time.
115
In fact, 40% of Subaru owners pay cash for their vehicles, doubling
the industry average of 20%.
116
As Mahoney stated, “We know who we are, and we do it
consistently…the landscape’s littered with companies that don’t know who they are or don’t
execute against that brand promise.”
117
Mahoney continued, “We spent a lot of time defining
who our customers are and having a relationship with them.”
118
Brandweek reporter Becky
Ebenkamp remarked that Subaru’s brand loyal and financially savvy customers are part of the
“New Economic Order (NEO),” consumers who value quality over low prices alone and
continue to spend during recessions.
119


BRIEF HISTORY OF SUBARU’S GAY AND LESBIAN IMC EFFORTS

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As a result of the market research findings, Subaru embarked on a new marketing path in
1995 to reach lesbians and gay men, beginning with corporate sponsorship of the Rainbow Card,
followed by gay and lesbian advertising and numerous strategic sponsorships.
120


FOUNDING SPONSOR OF THE RAINBOW CARD
In 1995, Subaru partnered with British Airways to co-sponsor Martina Navratilova’s
Rainbow Card, a credit card that donates a portion of every purchase to gay and lesbian charities
and non-profits through The Rainbow Endowment. In its first year, the Rainbow Card raised
$50,000 for gay and lesbian causes. After five years, the card had raised over $1 million.
121
In
the past, Subaru gave discounts of up to $3,000 on automobile purchases to Rainbow Card
members.
122


PROGRESSIVE ADVERTISING IN GAY MEDIA
Following the Rainbow Card sponsorship, Subaru became the first Japanese automaker to
advertise in gay media in March 1996 when it began running newspaper ads.
123
Shortly after,
Subaru placed ads in The Advocate, the leading gay and lesbian magazine, featuring both
imagery of gay men and lesbians
124
and language authentic to the communities; rather than
running the same ads previously placed in mainstream publications, Subaru developed unique

creative executions early on.
125
When the media asked Subaru to discuss its gay and lesbian
advertising campaign, Subaru refused to do so, stating that the campaign was a “regional test”
and that it did not want to reveal proprietary information.
126

Subaru’s ads feature unconventional taglines coded for gay and lesbian interpretation,
such as “Entirely comfortable with its orientation,” “It’s not a choice. It’s the way we’re built,”
and “Get out and stay out.”
127
Early copy testing showed messaging that used non-descript male
and female models did not resonate with gay and lesbian consumers. Subsequently, Subaru
shifted gears to include coded imagery. Although the company was initially hesitant to run the
coded ads, by 2002, anxiety had waned based on the campaigns’ successes. Bennett first
remarked: “If we were going to target-market, we decided to go after a niche that had already
found us,”
128
closely followed by “Every company markets to gays and lesbians, we just admit
it.”
"
129
"Subaru is one of the few companies, automotive or otherwise, that has specifically targeted
lesbians in its advertising messaging rather than simply gay men.
130
An example of such an ad is
the 1999 print ad featuring the tagline “Different Drivers. Different Roads. One Car.,” included
in Appendix II, that featured three Subaru vehicles with the following attributes:
1. Car #1 shows two men’s bikes on the roof rack and a rainbow sticker on the bumper;
the rainbow is a symbol of the gay and lesbian community.

• License plate: CAMPOUT – a play on the words “camp” and “out,” where out
refers to living life openly as a gay/lesbian individual
2. Car #2 features a kayak on the roof rack but is relatively non-descript, except for the
license plate.
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• License plate: XENA LVR – a reference to the popularity of the television
program Xena: Warrior Princess within the lesbian community at the time
3. Car #3 has a blue Human Rights Campaign (HRC) equality sticker on the bumper.
• License plate: P TOWNIE – stands for Provincetown, a popular gay and lesbian
vacation destination in Massachusetts
The ad copy referenced Subaru’s support of the gay and lesbian communities, specifically the
HRC and Rainbow Endowment sponsorships. The campaign was featured in gay print media as
well as on buses and billboards in the gay neighborhoods of select U.S. cities,
131
such as
Washington DC’s Dupont Circle.
132
Echoing earlier sentiment of Subaru’s covert gay and
lesbian marketing efforts, in response to the coded imagery, Bennett articulated, “It’s sort of like
our little secret. It’s clever and not offensive, and if you’re in-the-know, you chuckle.”
133

During Subaru’s “Get out and stay out” campaign, assumingly heterosexual online
message board posters offered their opinions about being associated with an automotive
company that marketed to gays and lesbians: “They can call my car gay, but they will be looking
pretty dumb when my ‘gay’ car blows their doors off,” and “Got mad for a while after that show
aired. Made me very pissed for some dumb-ass to call my car gay.” Bennett responded by noting
the overall success of the campaign and the fact that feedback of this sort had had a minimal
impact, at best.

134
Nearly one year after the incident, Bennett elaborated on negativity received
from consumers and non-consumers alike: “Look, we know that our owner base and our
consumers are extremely well educated, and they celebrate diversity. A person who would be
offended by our advertising probably would not have bought our car anyway.”
135

Acknowledging the fact that many gay and lesbian couples have children, Subaru started
advertising in a new gay and lesbian-targeted magazine called Alternative Family in 2000.
136

During this time, Subaru extended same-sex domestic partnership benefits to its employees.
137
In
2001, Subaru crossed over into mainstream publications by running ads in Movieline geared
toward gay and lesbian consumers. Similarly, in the December 2003 issue of Vanity Fair, which
profiled gay and lesbian television entertainers, Subaru strategically targeted gay and lesbian
consumers once again using mainstream media.
138
In referencing the company’s 2003
partnership with Lance Armstrong, Bennett characterized Subaru’s advertiser attributes as
“freedom, adventure, free-thinking, independent spirit.”
139
Yet, the attributes clearly extend
beyond Subaru’s mainstream marketing efforts.
When other automotive companies began advertising in gay media in the early 2000s,
particularly Jaguar, Land Rover, and Volvo, Subaru was surprised the competition had waited so
long to do so. Offering insight to his competitors, Bennett warned, “You can’t be a poser or
pretender. This is a very sophisticated, intelligent market - not all that different from other niche
markets we market to - so we probably have a leg up on the competition in that regard.”

140


SPONSORING GAY AND LESBIAN EVENTS
In conjunction with its advertising efforts, Subaru became an early sponsor of gay pride
events at both the dealership and corporate levels, beginning with the donation of a Subaru for
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the Denver Gay Pride Parade in 1996.
141
In 1999, Subaru sponsored a booth at Philadelphia’s
PrideFest,
142
and two years later, Subaru corporately-sponsored the Los Angeles Gay Pride
Festival.
143
Subaru sponsored Atlanta’s pride events in 2006
144
and Milwaukee’s events in
2009.
145

In 1999, Subaru sponsored Out Takes Dallas, the city’s annual gay and lesbian film
festival.
146
Likewise, Austin, TX, Provincetown, MA, Seattle, WA, and Washington DC’s film
festivals were sponsored by Subaru,
" 147
as was the 2003 Chicago Lesbian and Gay Film
Festival

148
.
Appealing to the outdoor lifestyles of its gay and lesbian consumers, Subaru sponsored
both GLAAD’S Ski Week in Telluride, CO
149
and The Advocate Golf Classic in 2004.
150


TV BRAND INTEGRATION: TEAM ECO-SUBARU AND THE L WORD
In 2002, Subaru signed on as the sole corporate sponsor for Eco-Challenge Fiji, a
competition-centric reality show on cable channel USA. The company sponsored Team Eco-
Subaru,
151
a team composed entirely of gay and lesbian athletes.
152

The L Word, a premium cable television drama that ran on Showtime between 2004 and
2009, featured a prominent Subaru product placement in multiple episodes. In a case of art
imitating life, Season 1, Episode 8 features a storyline in which a lesbian professional tennis
player is offered the opportunity to serve as the spokeswoman for a new Subaru campaign,
playfully winking at Martina Navratilova’s real-life 2000 celebrity sponsorship.
153
In a later
episode, Subaru reappeared as the corporate sponsor of the “Pink Ride,” a mock breast cancer
fundraising bicycle ride.
154
Additionally, a Subaru vehicle appeared in multiple episodes
throughout the show’s six season run.
Queer as Folk, Showtime’s earlier gay-themed series, also incorporated a Subaru tie-in.

To promote sales of the Season 1 DVD set, Subaru ran a sweepstakes offering a vehicle as the
grand prize.
155

Further extending their support of gay television, Subaru executives served on The Ad
Club’s November 2005 panel “The Queer Eye and What They Buy: Advertising to the Gay
Market.” Few companies could rival Subaru’s expertise, given the company’s 10 year history of
marketing to the communities by that point.
156


PARTNERING FOR AIDS RESEARCH
Although the “Pink Ride” was a fictitious event created for The L Word, Subaru began
sponsoring the AIDS/LifeCycle in 2004. The 545-mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los
Angeles brings attention to the disease and raises money for additional research.
157
Additionally,
Subaru hosts Dining Out for Life, an annual AIDS research fundraising event taking place in
over 70 U.S. cities.
158


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FOUNDING SPONSOR OF SIRIUS OUTQ AND LOGO
Keeping with the standard set by the Rainbow Card, Subaru signed on as a founding
sponsor of Sirius Satellite Radio’s OutQ in 2004, a channel devoted to gay and lesbian content.
The partnership included traditional advertising messages, event sponsorship, and on-air
endorsements by host John McMullen, who was given a 2005 Subaru Outback XT. Referencing
Howard Stern’s previous partnership with Snapple in stating that radio endorsements are not

new, McMullen mentioned his initial hesitation regarding product endorsement, for the sake of
authenticity: “I took the time to actually go out there and rent one so I didn’t get us into a deal I
didn’t believe in.”
159

One year after signing on as the founding sponsor of Sirius’ OutQ, Subaru joined Orbitz
and Paramount Pictures as one of three founding sponsors of MTV Network’s new cable
channel, Logo.
160
Nash, Creative Director of Moon City Productions, offered insight into the
sponsorship by stating that, “Category clutter is something this brand avoids at all costs. Logo
presented a way to recapture the lead we had 10 years ago.”
161

Initially, Subaru ran mainstream ads on Logo that were created by then-agency DDB
Worldwide.
162
But true to form, the company introduced three brand new gay- and lesbian-
specific commercials in October 2005, a few months after Logo’s launch, along with
corresponding print ads in The Advocate and Out and an online contest.
163
By November 2005,
Subaru was discussing future plans for more commercials, despite the fact that the channel was
not yet Nielsen-rated.
164

In addition to the standard :15, :30, and :60 second television spots, Logo also presented
advertisers with a new form of communication – interstitials. Interstitials run for the duration of a
commercial break and are sponsored by one company. Subaru and MTV Networks co-created
two-minute interstitials featuring stories of real-life gay men and lesbians; Subaru branding was

flashed at the end only.
165
As Hank Close, President for MTV Networks’ Ad Sales explained,
“The whole goal here is to blur the line between content and advertising message.”
166

In October 2009, Subaru launched the Logo Legacy Campaign, a six-month branding
campaign extending interstitials to three minutes. The campaign is a play on words, referencing
Subaru’s launch of the 2010 Legacy model and the legacy of gay and lesbian entertainers. The
interstitials once again feature real-life gay men and lesbians discussing their lives, with Subaru
branding appearing at the beginning only. Viewers are guided to LogoOnline.com for more
information about Subaru’s products as well as a showcase of Subaru’s previous gay and lesbian
ads. Lisa Sherman, Senior VP and General Manager of Logo proclaimed, “We are proud to
partner with Subaru, a company that has truly raised the bar with the work they have done with
and for the community to offer this meaningful campaign to our viewers.”
167


GAY ORGANIZATIONS RECOGNIZE SUBARU’S EFFORTS
Gay organizations began formally recognizing Subaru’s efforts in 2002, starting with the
Human Rights Campaign (HRC). HRC, the United States’ largest gay and lesbian advocacy
organization, ranks the employment policies of public and private companies nationwide in its
annual Corporate Equality Index (CEI). The HRC bases its rankings on the existence of non-
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discrimination policies that include lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) employees,
diversity training, LGBT health benefits, employee resource groups, and “respectful” marketing
efforts targeting the LGBT community.
168

Subaru has scored a perfect 100 on HRC’s CEI for three years straight. Although Subaru
has been included in the HRC rankings since 2002, the company has published just one media
release on its corporate website announcing its ranking, dated September 21, 2009.
169
The media
release is included in Appendix III. In 2009, Ikeda commented on the company’s perfect score:
“We are very proud to accept this recognition. Due to the diverse insights, talents and
perspectives our employees contribute, we have built a culture that is cohesive in
operation, strong at heart, and a company where our employees work with pride.
Together we hope to create a reputation of distinction, service and respect.”
170

The company’s rankings from 2002-2010 are featured in Table VI:

Source: HRC
171

In conjunction with HRC recognition, Subaru has been honored by various gay
organizations for its efforts. On November 21, 2005, the Commercial Closet Association
honored Subaru’s Tim Bennett with its first Visionary Executive Award in New York City.
172

Four years later on October 27, 2009, GLAAD awarded Subaru the Corporate Responsibility
Award.
173

In 2008, MediaPost named Subaru Automotive Marketer of the Year for its general
market campaign “Love. It’s what makes a Subaru, a Subaru” and the “Share the Love” charity
campaign. As Karl Greenberg, editor at Mediapost.com stated, “Subaru is an anomaly in the auto
business [with] the kind of brand equity and staunch loyalty you usually find in luxury

marquees, which means they can keep their message on product and brand, not deals.”
174
In
addition to the MediaPost honor, Subaru ranked third in the automotive industry on Brand Keys’
annual 2009 Customer Loyalty Insights Report.
175


CONSUMER FEEDBACK FOR GAY AND LESBIAN OUTREACH
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By 2000, Subaru was receiving feedback from gay and lesbian consumers about its
marketing efforts. 2000 MRI data showed that The Advocate and Out readers were one and a half
times more likely to purchase a Subaru vehicle than other brands. During the next year, Subaru
doubled its advertising efforts; through market research in 2002, the company learned that
readers were now nearly three times more likely to purchase a Subaru than other brands.
176

Further research showed that as Subaru expanded its marketing efforts and changed the design of
its vehicles over time, by 2002 gay men exceeded lesbians in number of Subarus purchased.
177

For its outreach, Subaru affectionately became known as “gaybaru”
178
and “lesbaru”
179

by those within the communities; while the media first reported these nicknames in 2002, it is
likely that members in the communities referred to the vehicles accordingly prior to that.
In 2009, NPR’s Car Talk created a top 10 list of gay and lesbian vehicles, based on e-

mail feedback from gay and lesbian listeners. The Subaru Outback and Forrester ranked #1 and
#2, respectively, for lesbians, while the top 10 list for gay men did not feature any Subarus.
180

INCREASED SALES DUE TO OUTREACH
Subaru’s reciprocal relationship with gay and lesbian stakeholders provides evidence of
prosperity; between 1993 and 2004, Subaru more than doubled the number of cars sold.
Although the increase to Subaru’s bottom line is not directly caused by its relationship with the
gay and lesbian communities alone, Bennett definitively acknowledged the fact that Subaru’s
relationship cultivation played a role in the upswing.
181



FORD MOTOR COMPANY
Like Subaru, Ford Motor Company has partnered with the gay and lesbian communities
for over a decade. However, despite its long partnership history, Ford was entangled in a 2005-
06 battle over gay advertising with two opposing stakeholders: the conservative American
Family Association (AFA) and numerous gay organizations. Despite its gay-friendly outreach,
Ford handled the boycott in a secretive, indirect manner that led to many questions – from both
sides. The events contrast Subaru’s boycott-free history.
To provide context for understanding how the boycott arose, and subsequently Ford’s
response to the events as they unfolded, a brief overview of the Ford Motor Co. follows.
Significantly larger than Subaru, in 2008 Ford Motor Co. posted a net income of $14.7 billion
182

and sold 2.3 million automobiles in North America alone.
183
Ford accounted for 14.2% of all
U.S. auto sales in 2008 and was the sixth largest advertiser is terms of ad spending, at $1.4

billion. Representing one-third of the Big Three U.S. automotive manufacturers, Ford Motor Co.
is the only American manufacturer to have not received money in the government bailout. An
abridged history of Ford’s relationship with the gay and lesbian communities is provided in the
following sections.

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FORD’S GAY-FRIENDLY HISTORY
In July 1994, Ford employees Alice McKeage and Rob Matras began a letter-writing
campaign to Ford’s CEO and VP of Employee Relations to broach the subject of forming a gay,
lesbian, and bisexual employee group. Granting their request, one year later McKeage and Matra
co-founded the Ford Gay, Lesbian, or Bisexual Employees (GLOBE) group. Later in 1995, Ford
expanded its corporate diversity definition to include sexual orientation and ran ads during
NBC’s viewing of Serving in Silence, a made-for-TV movie about the life of lesbian Army
Colonel Margarethe Cammermeyer, discharged under the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
Policy in 1992. In 1996, Ford developed a GLOBE site on the company intranet, publicizing its
efforts to internal stakeholders (now available through ). Externally, members
marched in gay pride parades and collaborated with gay, lesbian, and bisexual groups at
neighboring GM and Chrysler.
184

GLOBE members added sexual orientation to Ford’s workplace diversity training in 1998
and delivered external speeches about Ford’s efforts to organizations in metro-Detroit. The
following year, GLOBE started recruiting at gay and lesbian conferences and sponsored both
Lambda Legal’s “Michigan in March” celebration and the 1999 Out and Equal Leadership
Summit. Moreover, Ford vehicles were featured in pride events in Australia and Europe.
In the early 2000s, Ford’s outreach to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and newly-extended
transgender communities increased over time through corporate sponsorship of events like
Working Out: Lesbian and Gay MBA Conference, National Coming Out Day, Parents and
Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) Michigan, Jaguar Gay Pride Month in New Jersey,

Corporate Sponsorship of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) Media
Awards (Jaguar), Midwest BLGTA College Conference, and AIDS Walk Michigan. Ford also
contributed large donations to the greater Detroit Affirmations Lesbian and Gay Community
Center, and additional GLOBE chapters sprung up worldwide. Showing its commitment to
internal and external stakeholders in a manner unmatched by competitors, in 2001 Ford opened a
Beverly Hills dealership featuring all-gay employees. Ford advertised the new venture in
Frontiers, a local gay magazine.
185


GAY ORGANIZATIONS RECOGNIZE FORD’S EFFORTS
On June 8, 2000, Ford, GM, and Chrysler – in conjunction with the United Auto Workers
(UAW) – extended same-sex healthcare benefits to employees; additional benefits, such as
financial planning, legal services, and vehicle programs, were offered to LGBT employees the
following year. For GLOBE’s efforts, Ford was jointly-awarded the HRC’s Corporate Equality
Award along with GM, Chrysler, and UAW in 2000. In 2004 and 2005, Ford was the only
automotive company to score a perfect 100 on the HRC CEI. A complete history of Ford’s CEI
rankings is shown in Table VII:

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Source: HRC
186


In 2003, Ford was named the top company for overall diversity by Diversity, Inc. and the
second best company for LGBT employees. The company also received the GLAAD Fairness
Award in 2003,
187

honoring Ford’s commitment to employee equality. In reference to the
Fairness Award, Jim Padilla, Ford’s COO, stated: “This rating acknowledges Ford’s deep
commitment to building and nurturing an inclusive and respectful culture in which all employees
feel encouraged and able to contribute to their fullest potential. Not only is this the right thing to
do, it is essential to the future of our business.”
188


JAGUAR, VOLVO, AND LAND ROVER BEGIN ADVERTISING IN GAY MEDIA
Cindy Clardy of GLOBE cautioned Ford about reaching out to the gay and lesbian
communities: “We told Ford not to consider direct marketing to gay and lesbian consumers until
they had their internal policies in place.”
189
Presumably heeding Clardy’s advice, after
implementing gay-friendly policies in the mid-1990s, Ford hired Witeck-Combs (a Washington
DC-based PR firm that specializes in reaching the gay and lesbian communities) to execute a
survey of LGBT attitudes toward automotive companies.
190
Results were shared with all Ford
Motor Co. brands, including Aston Martin, Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercury,
and Volvo, but only three brands moved forward with ad creation and focus group testing.
191

In 1999, Jaguar sponsored GLAAD’s Annual Media Awards for the first time
192
and
Land Rover followed a couple years later.
193
In 2003, Jaguar followed Subaru’s lead and
developed gay- and lesbian-specific creative executions

194
for The Advocate, Out, and
Metrosource.
195
During the campaign, Jaguar began offering $1,000 donations to the HRC for
every car purchased or leased; in 2004, Jaguar shifted donations from HRC to GLAAD.
196

Referring to the Jaguar campaign, Jan Valentic, Ford’s VP of Global Marketing, asserted, “We
believe in messaging that connects with the consumer. The point of our doing this
is…reciprocity. So when they buy one of our products, they know that we are giving back to
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their community.”
197
Land Rover began advertising to the communities in 2002; in 2003-04, the
company also offered $1,000 donations to HRC/GLAAD for every car purchased.
198

In a similar vein, Volvo first advertised in Genre, a magazine targeting gay men, in July
2001.
199
Additionally, Volvo donated automobiles for use in the 2001 West Hollywood Gay
Pride Parade.
200
For its groundbreaking “Starting a Family” campaign launched two years later
(see Appendix IV), Volvo was awarded the Advertising Research Foundation’s David Ogilvy
Award on April 27, 2004
201
and the Association of National Advertisers’ Multicultural

Excellence Award on November 9, 2004.
202
Volvo became a platinum sponsor of the HRC and
offered donations of $500 for every vehicle sold or leased, announcing its partnership in the
campaign.
203
Thomas Andersson, EVP of Volvo Cars North America, remarked: “For us, it was
very natural to address gay families…the Volvo-minded consumer is very diverse. ‘Family’ is
much more than the traditional family.”
204

Although running ads in Europe and Australia during this time, Ford Motor Co. had yet
to consistently run ads for its flagship brand in U.S. gay media. Ford did advertise its Focus
model on gay.com in 1999
205
and its new Beverly Hills dealership in a local gay magazine in
2001, but that advertising presence was short-lived. When asked if the company was concerned
that advertising abroad might offend conservative U.S. consumers, Valentic responded, “It
wouldn’t scare us from doing something that’s right for our company.”
206


AFA BOYCOTTS FORD FOR “HOMOSEXUAL AGENDA”
On May 31, 2005,
207
the Tupelo, MS-based American Family Association (AFA)
announced its intentions to boycott Ford Motor Co. in response to the latter’s pro-gay
ideology.
208
The Conservative Christian organization founded by Reverend Donald Wildmon in

1978
209
is known for boycotting organizations
c
that do not adhere to its conservative ideology.
210

As Randy Sharp, AFA’s Director of Special Projects contended, Ford Motor Co. was “redefining
the definition of the family to include homosexual marriage.”
211

In response to AFA’s announcement, Ford spokeswoman Marcey Evans explained that
“Diversity is very important to Ford, and it goes beyond homosexuality.”
212
Yet, local Ford
dealers urged AFA to postpone the boycott until Ford could meet with AFA members; the AFA
agreed to a six-month postponement, to lessen the impact on local dealers for what was
decidedly an executive decision.
213

In June 2005, Ford and AFA met for the first time.
214
Immediately succeeding a second
meeting on November 28, 2005,
215
held at AFA headquarters,
216
Ford Motor Co. announced its
decision to pull Jaguar and Land Rover (but not Volvo) advertising in a company memo. Gay
and lesbian stakeholders – both internal and external – were not consulted nor informed of

Ford’s decision before the media announced the decision.
217

"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
c
The AFA has boycotted Disney World, Wal-Mart, Proctor & Gamble, Volkswagen, Clorox Company, SC Johnson
& Son, Kraft Foods, Walgreens, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Old Navy, Viacom, Abercrombie & Fitch, K-Mart, Burger
King, Carl’s Jr., Nutrisystem, and American Airlines."
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"
After the memo was distributed, Ford spokesperson Mike Moran denied that the
company had given into AFA pressure (see the Chicago Tribune article in Appendix V):
“That is not something that came about in the last week or month.
218
This was made as a
pure business decision, not as a social statement one way or another. This was not a
decision in response to the American Family Association. Jaguar and Land Rover are
streamlining their advertising in 2006.”
219

Moran denied the existence of a confidential agreement between Ford Motor Co. and AFA
220

and noted that Jaguar and Land Rover were reducing advertising expenditures elsewhere, but he
neglected to state where else the companies’ advertising expenditures would be trimmed.
221
A
Ford company statement corroborated Moran’s sentiment, declaring “Advertising decisions for
all our brands are driven strictly by a business case.”
222

Ford’s U.S. sales numbers partially substantiated company sentiment. In 2005, company-
wide U.S. sales declined 5%; Jaguar’s sales declined 34%; yet Land Rover’s sales increased by
31%.
223

Interpreting Ford’s ad pull as victory, on November 30, 2005, AFA posted a notice on its
website stating they would not proceed with the boycott.
224
In a media release, Rev. Wildmon
stated: “While we still have a few differences with Ford, we feel that our concerns are being
addressed in good faith and will continue to be addressed in the future.”
225

Moran revealed that while AFA objected to Ford’s gay-friendly behavior in the United
States, AFA was particularly offended by the company’s European ads featuring men holding
hands with one another and women in their bras. His statements sharply contrasted Valentic’s,
Ford’s VP of Global Marketing, earlier remarks that discounted Ford’s potential for offending
U.S. conservatives with European ads. Sharp, AFA’s Director of Special Projects, declared that
while other automotive manufacturers also actively reach out to the gay and lesbian
communities, Ford’s HRC and GLAAD donations far outweighed competitors’ efforts; therefore,
Ford became the target of AFA’s attacks.
226

Reactions from members of the gay community tended to skew heavily toward outrage.
HRC, a benefactor of Jaguar and Land Rover’s donations, vehemently opposed Ford’s decision:
“We expect Ford to disavow it…[and] publicly reaffirm its historic support for our
community.”
227
Kevin Cathcart, Executive Director of the Lambda Legal Defense Fund, echoed

HRC: “You don’t make deals with bullies, and you don’t cut your friends loose.”
228
Offering a
different opinion, Spencer Moore, Manager of Corporate Communications for PlanetOut, Inc.,
owner of gay.com, argued, “Based on what Ford has said, it’s a business decision and some of
their brands are still advertising.”
229

After meeting with AFA members twice and subsequently announcing the ad pulls, Ford
agreed to meet with 19 gay organization leaders on December 10, 2005.
230
Ford offered no
indication of plans to cut AFA ties or to reinstate Jaguar and/or Land Rover ads. Through a
company statement, Ford commented that the company was: “always willing to engage in
constructive conversation with those interested in our policies But only Ford Motor Company
speaks for Ford Motor Company. Any suggestion to the contrary is incorrect.”
231