This past spring, I spent most of my late-night weekday evenings glued to the television watching a new phenomenon from my cable provider. It was LOGO-TV. I had heard about LOGO’s launch and also had anxiously awaited its debut as well as the arrival of HERE! in my market for months.
I checked online one day early this year and found that LOGO was indeed on the air in Chicago. After that point, I forsook Letterman and late-night reruns of “Will and Grace” for a slew of 1990s gay-themed feature films that I somehow had missed, most likely because I spent the 1990s in West Texas where the movies weren’t screened.
After watching the fifth airing of “Tales of the City” episodes, I admit I became bored with the network’s initial rotation of limited content; however, I never got tired of seeing the commercials and noting what advertisers were not only supporting our community’s media but also customizing adverts specifically for us.
Orbitz at the time was – and still is – among the leaders of specifically gay ad content, an effort that has been recognized by our community.
Last spring was the one time in my post-Tivo life that I recall not forwarding past the commercials on television. Content has since become much more robust, and the commercials still grab my attention.
The point is that gay TV is here. It’s here to stay. After initial sputters and starts, we have not only one but two strong LGBT networks – if you don’t count HGTV.
Gay TV, pay-per-view or as part of cable and satellite packages, has expanded beyond top urban areas without much protest, and gay-content ads also have ridden along into America’s heartland.
Gay specific content is not something necessary for all LGBT-marketing advertisements. Indeed, gay specific content may not even work for some products. I don’t expect to see a same-sex couple seated lovingly together on a couch, rubbing each other’s temples in an effort to pitch a pain reliever to me.
However, if companies are going to spend the money to support LGBT programming, they should go one step further to be sure those adverts are appropriate for us and/or developed with sensitivities to our community. It’s that effort that can make the difference between an advert where we fast-forward and one where we watch repeatedly until Tivo makes us go back to the network’s originally scheduled program.
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