Obviously, TTAC has no problem with car manufacturers targeting gays, lesbians, bi-sexuals, transsexuals or herbisexuals for any given brand or model. But we do expect carmakers to do so with a modicum of common sense. Pitching the new Chevy Traverse at gay men is like suggesting that Barack Obama should show up at his rallies in a Maybach Exelero. Hang on. Cool! OK, it’s like suggesting that soccer Moms should buy a Pontiac Solstice. Actually, they should– just to get away from the kids for a few hours. And keep Alzheimer’s at bay by trying to erect the Solstice’s top. Is that sexist? Damn! Alright, try it this way. GM’s marketing mavens should know that the Chevy Traverse is to the Mazda Miata what Chuck E. Cheese is to Fire Island. Or something like that.
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Pitching the new Chevy Traverse at gay men is like suggesting that Barack Obama should show up at his rallies in a Maybach Exelero.
Why?
KnightRT :
Because it’s a tad OTT for a man trying to appeal to middle class voters. Any other reasoning is entirely your own.
Who’s to say this article isn’t just targeting straight women?
I mean, I’m guessing the advertisers thought that the notion of a naked man doing the laundry would be appealing to the ladies. It would just be another chore they wouldn’t have to do.
Reminds me of that Coke advert a few years ago where those construction guys were outside the office window and the women inside gawked them.
The ad scored pretty well with women – and it’s well known women are responsible for most purchase decisions. I don’t recall how that ad scored with the gay men demographic.
I still don’t follow. Are you saying the Traverse is too uncool for gay men? Vice versa?
GM has, recently, been patently awful at targeting it’s products. Witness the GMT900 hybrids, pitched at fuel misers and greenies.
They really have no idea who buys what cars, do they?
A seven-passenger people mover designed for suburban soccer parents, pushed to a demographic that’s mostly urban, usually predisposed to vehicles nothing like this, and nominally childless. Smart move, there. What’s next, pushing Saab in Guns and Ammo?
I don’t see the gay angle. The guy holds up an orange dress in the last few seconds of the ad. And no gay man I know (as butch as this actor) would be caught dead with a pink iron.
no gay guys i know would be caught dead with a chevy traverse either
I still don’t follow. Are you saying the Traverse is too uncool for gay men? Vice versa?
I think it’s that gay men are unlikely to have enough children to need a mini-van-type vehicle. Makes sense to me.
For this gay guy, I don’t know that eye candy means they are focusing on me. Like the Coke ad it might be women who want a metro guy that will clean their toilet and press their cloths. If however, it is focused moi, lousy job guys.
I’ve been apart of those brainstorming meetings in corporate marketing and was that the best they came up with? Well I do have to add that marketing departments are usually all female these days, so I guess they don’t see a problem with using men as meat. But just try that same ad selling pickups with a nearly naked chick ironing clothes. I doubt the gals in the marketing department would let that fly.
As part of the gay demographic, I don’t get it. Plus, a Chevy Traverse? You won’t see me driving a Chevy.
What about the late GEO Metro? That convertible, in the white paint, always looked to me like it needed a “Good Humor Ice Cream” logo on the side. I really miss their chocolate malted bars.
It’s probably just that I’m semi-deaf from too many years of flying loud airplanes, but I have no idea what the opening voice track is about. Played it several time and all I get is, “Are you calling about [unintelligible]?…Yeah, six months.”
So his wife is expecting in six months? He’s ironing a dress for a 40-pound baby? He’s been gay for six months?
The strong resemblance of the actor to Tom Cruise merits further consideration.
I think actually the ad agency did the commercial for the pink-iron manufacturer and there was some dreadful slip-up in the mailroom.
You know the old joke about the hunk of a guy who meets a 30 something woman in a bar? He tells her he will do anything and everything she wants … the fulfillment of her deepest needs and fantasies, and since she is so hot it will only cost $50 per hour. She take him up on it, winks and takes him home. Her demands: Do the laundry, make me dinner and clean the bathrooms.
Chevy is being pretty slick in appealing both to that woman and to gay men. Most of the women I know enjoy the company of gay men, so this ad is clearly a two-fer.
The famous Joseph P. Sixpack probably isn’t in the target market for a Traverse though :).
I’m still trying to figure out where you got the idea this was for gays. I figured it was targeted at women (who, studies show, make up most of the “soccer mom” demographic).
My (soccer) mom, who currently drives a minivan, certainly liked the ad. That’s pretty close to what she describes as the ideal man.
Stephan Wilkinson : He’s making (restaurant?) reservations for their six-month anniversary.
I don’t see the gay angle, but then again, I have ZERO ability to notice homosexuals when I’m out in public.
I just watched this again. There’s talk of a six-month anniversary, but the dress is too small for a woman and too large for a six-month-old child. Overall, it’s a big “huh?”. It’s not that it’s targeted at gay men or straight women, it’s that I have no idea who this is meant to reach. At all.
I think this is one of those “meat market” ads that attempts to be as clever as the Diet Coke Break and just fails miserably at it. They were trying to be sexy yet sensitive, and just came off as confusing yet tawdry.
Hmm.. that makes me wonder what the Chevy salesman was thinking today at the fair I was at where they had a Chevy Traverse on display. I was inspecting the back seat height and thinking they were pretty low when the rep came up to me, handed me a made in China wrapped GM of Canada chamois cloth with his card attached to it and said, “You look like a buyer”… ;-)
Guess I need to recalibrate my Gaydar. I could have sworn this commercial was targeting the exact 3 cougars who chase around Kasey Kahne in the “Safe Driving” Allstate commercials.
Earth to RF. This commercial pokes fun at the notion of the (too) perfect husband. Its clearly targeted at hetero, married women with kids.
Still, thanks for the post. That guy is HOT!
I just figured it all out!
That’s a regular women’s top, so he’s straight for sure.
Why did he set off the gaydar, then? Watch again and pay attention to his expressions and his voice. Does he remind you of Tom Cruise?
Actually, with the 6 month “anniversary” it does seem a bit gay targeted. Do straight people celebrate 6 months? But yeah, could go either way.
That said, not all gay men drive little sports cars or Jettas. I have gay friends that drive Jeep Cherokees (2dr), XTerras, Camry coupes, 300Ms, & one that just replaced a Malibu with a Rogue. Of course I drive an Audi TT roadster (225 at least) & am considering the Jetta Sportwagen TDI. So I might be the stereotype.
There’s another ad with the “everything you ever wished for” line that shows a woman putting stuff into the back of her Traverse and it starts raining new pairs of shoes. Obviously both these ads are targeting women.
he’s ironing a dress. that feels pretty straight to me.