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How an Ad Campaign Made Lesbians Drop in Love with Subaru
Subaru’s marketing strategy had just died in a fit of irony.
It was the mid s, and sales of Subaru cars were in decline. To contrary the company’s fortunes, Subaru of America had created its first luxury car—even though the small automaker was known for plain but dependable cars—and hired a trendy advertising agency to introduce it to the public.
The new approach had fallen flat when the ad men took irony too far: One ad touted the novel sports car’s top speed of MPH, then asked, “How important is that, with extended urban gridlock, gas at $ a gallon and highways packed of patrolmen?&#;
After firing the hip ad agency, Subaru of America changed its approach. Rather than contend directly with Ford, Toyota, and other carmakers that dwarfed Subaru in size, executives decided to come back to its old concentrate on marketing Subaru cars to niche groups—like outdoorsy types who liked that Subaru cars could manage dirt roads.
This search for niche groups led Subaru to the 3rd rail of marketing: They discovered that le
ow do you advertise a car that journalists depict as “sturdy, if drab”?
That was the question faced by Subaru of America executives in the s. After the company's shots to reinvigorate sales — by releasing its first luxury car and hiring a hip ad agency to introduce it to the public — failed, it changed its approach. Rather than fight larger car companies over the same demographic of alabaster , to year-olds living in the suburbs, executives decided to market their cars to niche groups — such as outdoorsy types who liked that Subarus could handle dirt roads.
In the s, Subaru's singular selling point was that the company increasingly made all-wheel drive standard on all its cars. When the company's marketers went searching for people willing to pay a premium for all-wheel drive, they identified four core groups who were responsible for half of the company's American sales: teachers and educators, health-care professionals, IT professionals, and outdoorsy types.
Then they discovered a fifth: lesbians. “When we did the research, we establish pockets of the territory like Northampton, Massa
The Daily Dave
Not everyone bursts out of the closet. Some take their second, send subtle signals, test the waters, and — when they feel they&#;re ready — spring to the chief of the parade.
That&#;s what Subaru did.
In the early ’90s, Subaru began winking at lesbian vehicle buyers. The messages were coded so carefully that they would go over a straight person&#;s head. But lesbians, and the LGBTQ community as a whole, knew exactly what was going on.
It was enjoy sneaking a game of footsie under the dinner table.
This is part of my Gayskool project:
A new LGBTQ-themed post every afternoon for Pride month.
Subtext Is Everything
Today, the clues will feel obvious, even to many straight people. At the moment, though, they were cleverly hidden in plain sight.
Here are a few examples.
She Was a Rapid Machine, She Kept Her Motor Wash, She Was the Best Damn Girl That I Ever Seen
First, a fast ad that, depending on your signal of view, either pokes fun at or perpetuates female homosexual stereotypes.
You&#;re On The Right Track Child &#;
While everyone was embroiled in the nature vs. nurture deb
Case study: Subaru
The beginning
How do you advertise a car that journalists describe as “sturdy, if drab”? That was the question faced by Subaru of America executives in the s. When the company’s marketers went searching for people willing to pay a premium for all-wheel drive, they identified four core groups who were responsible for half of the company’s American sales: teachers and educators, health-care professionals, IT professionals, and outdoorsy types. Then they discovered a fifth: lesbians. “When we did the study, we found pockets of the country like Northampton, Massachusetts, and Portland, Oregon, where the leader of the household would be a single person - and often a woman,” says Tim Bennett, who was the company’s director of advertising at the time. When marketers talked to these customers, they realized these women buying Subarus were lesbian.
In the ‘90s, gay-friendly advertising was largely limited to the fashion and alcohol industries. Pop society had also yet to adopt the LGBT cause. Mainstream movies and TV shows with homosexual characters -