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

C ASE S TUDYENTIRELY COMFORTABLE WITH ITS ORIENTATION: SUBARU’S SUCCESSFUL HISTORY OF GAY/LESBIAN INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS 01/05/2010 This case study examines an integrated m

C ASE S TUDY

ENTIRELY COMFORTABLE WITH ITS ORIENTATION:

SUBARU’S SUCCESSFUL HISTORY OF GAY/LESBIAN INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

01/05/2010

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)

T ABLE OF C ONTENTS

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

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

ENTIRELY COMFORTABLE WITH ITS ORIENTATIONa:

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

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,

a This phrase is a tagline used in a 1998 Subaru print advertisement See Appendix I.


Subaru needs to grow its consumer base by pursuing other niche markets without damaging the relationships it has cultivated thus far

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

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

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:

Chart II:

2007-08 Top 10 Advertiser’s, By Parent Company

Parent Company

2008 (millions)

2007 (millions)

Source: The Nielsen Company 20

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

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

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

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:

o SmithKline Beecham and Abbott Laboratories (1997)50

o Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (1997)51

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

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.68Furthermore, 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

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

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

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

2010PRODUCT 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

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:

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 IMCEFFORTS

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

F OUNDING S PONSOR OF T HE R AINBOW C ARD

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

P ROGRESSIVE A DVERTISING IN G AY M EDIA

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 lesbians124 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

• 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

S PONSORING G AY AND L ESBIAN E VENTS

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

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 2006144 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 Festival148

Appealing to the outdoor lifestyles of its gay and lesbian consumers, Subaru sponsored both GLAAD’S Ski Week in Telluride, CO149 and The Advocate Golf Classic in 2004.150

TV B RAND I NTEGRATION :TEAM ECO-SUBARU AND THE LWORD

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

P ARTNERING FOR AIDS R ESEARCH

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

F OUNDING S PONSOR OF S IRIUS O UT Q AND L OGO

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-

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.172Four 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

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.176Further 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

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 billion182and 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