More ‘negative’ presentations of gay and lesbian themes appeared in mainstream advertisements in 2004 as compared to the previous year, according to a new study released by the Commercial Closet Association.
Of the 87 ads it rated in 2004, Commercial Closet judged 40 of them (45.9 percent) to be negative. In 2003, only 21 of 110 ads (19 percent) earned the same rating. Findings were based on the organization’s ratings for mainstream ads with LGBT themes, archived at www.CommercialCloset.org. The ratings included Positive, Negative, Equal, Gay Vague, and Stereotype.
According to Michael Wilke, Commercial Closet’s founder and executive director, 2004 also saw a sharp increase in issue-based advertising, due primarily to the same-sex marriage debate. At least 100 same-sex marriage-related ads were tracked; they came from political candidates, LGBT groups, political organizations, and others. There were also other milestones, including ‘Queer Eye for the Straight Guy’ expert Thom Filicia pitching Pier 1 Imports and Ellen DeGeneres’s ad for American Express.