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Tim Mahoney saw the potential for trouble.
As part of Chevrolet's "Find New Roads" campaign, the brand's chief marketing officer helped create a commercial that would break on the Sochi Olympics featuring family vignettes, including gay and interracial couples. The theme: "The new us."
Before greenlighting the spot, Mr. Mahoney reviewed the Commonwealth-created campaign with senior executives and several hundred local marketing associations. The automaker's communications teams were also prepped to respond to negative feedback. "The dealers acknowledged it might upset some people," said Mr. Mahoney. "But fundamentally they also get its about expanding the desirability of Chevrolet and bringing more people in."
Ultimately, he said, the message was to "reaffirm that Chevrolet is a new company with a new way of thinking. ... It's an acknowledgement that America has changed."
While America has grown more socially liberal, it's taken Madison Avenue some time to reflect that reality. Pop culture typically sets the boundaries of social conversation, said Jason Chambers, author of "Madison Avenue and the Color Line" and professor at the University of Illinois. Advertising has proved to be the last frontier when it comes to reflecting societal changes. "There is a natural hesitancy to speak to where [consumers] are rather than lead them where they should go, because what if they say, 'no'?" said Mr. Chambers.
According to U.S. Census data from 2010, one in 10 -- or 5.4 million -- opposite-sex couples are interracial, a 28% rise since 2000. According to the data, the number of same-sex-couple households in the U.S. was 646,000, up 9% from 2000.
That may explain why it's only within the past year that mass marketers have been embracing inclusiveness in mass-market campaigns, marked by big splashes from the likes of Coca-Cola, General Mills and Chevy on advertising's biggest stages. Coke created a gorgeous pastiche of diverse faces singing "America the Beautiful" in a host of languages. Big G reunited the mixed-race parents of Gracie, the endearing young star of its Cheerios commercial, for the Super Bowl. They join Gap Inc.'s Banana Republic, Procter & Gamble's Swiffer and Guinness, all of which have used more diverse casting in recent weeks.
Room for progress
Marketing experts say this is the moment that historians and social
commentators will likely declare a tipping point for advertising
enlightenment in the years to come. But, in truth, adland is late
to the game, and plenty of progress is still to be made.
The country has shifted quite a bit in a more socially liberal direction, even in the past two to three years. But in some ways we're still where we were in the 1970s when we started with integrated advertising," said Mr. Chambers.
He said the Cheerios ads are reminiscent of some of the first racially integrated ads, where different races were present but didn't necessarily interact. In the first ad, he notes the couple is shown in different rooms, while in the second ad, they are standing several feet apart and only exchange a look. "You never see the parents in close proximity. They don't have that level of social intimacy."
Likewise, J.C. Penney made headlines and won over some consumers in 2012 with its unwavering support of spokeswoman Ellen DeGeneres, who is openly gay, in the face of protests from One Million Moms. But that didn't mean it showed Ms. DeGeneres kissing another woman in a national ad.
To be fair, advertisers have been dipping their toes in these waters for years. But the move has been from progressive and niche companies rather than those that target the mainstream middle. Brands from United Colors of Benetton to Expedia have widely featured interracial couples or gay couples in print, digital and outdoor ads. "Gay vague" ads were not unusual in the 1990s, for example. One that was widely discussed was Volkswagen's 1997 "Da da da" spot that showed two men in a car but wasn't explicit about their relationship.
The difference now is scale. "Big brands have woken up to the realization that at least part of the Republican Party woke up to in 2012, which is that young Americans across the board value diversity and organizations or brands that explicitly affirm their acceptance of diversity," said David Rogers, professor of digital marketing at Columbia University's business school.
Good for business?
Why has it taken so long? Once-skittish advertisers are realizing
it's good for business. A scroll through Chevrolet's Facebook page,
for example, reveals consumers have been jumping to the brand's
defense against derogatory comments.