The marketing mavens at GM commissioned a Youtube video of two “bumblebee boys” washing a Camaro for Chevrolet’s “Gay Days At The Movies” promotion. The bankrupt automaker pulled the ad after a single day for being “tasteless.” (As the Chinese market ad in the post below proves, using sex to sell fast cars is never OK.) Only yesterday, GM’s Dave Barthmuss told USA Today that the video might surprise some “because you don’t see it in the mainstream.” But the ad would “make sense for this particular audience.” Today, Barthmuss tells USA Today that “the video was not appropriate and not in good taste.” The only problem was that (apparently) nobody at GM had actually seen the video. The spot has been yanked from YouTube; it’s internet MIA. So why spend (taxpayer) money on ads like this if you aren’t even going to use them? And what about the video makes it any more tasteless than, say, a Camaro in Harvest Gold or It’s A Girl Pink?
76 Comments on “GM Scares Itself With Gay-Oriented Camaro Marketing...”
Back to TopLeave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
You can also login using Facebook Connect.
Not-so-subtle sex advertising for not-so-subtle, erm, “masculinity-enhancement” vehicles cannot suffer any affront to immaculate machismo, even though we all know the freudian analysis of underlying insecurities.
I mean, Broback Mountain was provocative because it was about cow-boys. There’s nothing more macho than a cow-boy…or a muscle car. Or Top Gun -hint-
Perhapse they are afraid of alienating their mullet demographic. In reality, who is more likley to buy a new car, a dual income gay male couple with no kids or some mullet paying child support?
I really fail to see what the problem with this is. Car companies (and every other industry on the planet) have been using hot chicks to sell their products for years. (See import magazines, or every auto show ever) What’s wrong with throwing a hot guy or two into the mix?
But, was the Camaro in the ad a stick shift?
It was probably not half as offensive as the movie Bruno will be… I’d love to see the video if anyone can find it. And on a side note, I’ll take my SS with Flow masters and a rainbow sticker on the rear window.
I thought Barney Frank would approve…
I think the other issue is that if goes to show how out of touch GM is with the buying public. Or, at least, the buying public that has the means to buy a new car.
Let me know when GM grows a pair.
Reminds me of the old George Hamilton movie, “Zorro, the Gay Blade”.
Perhapse they are afraid of alienating their mullet demographic.
They did that when they stopped making the Transcamaro.
They drove the final nail in the coffin when they decided to kill Pontiac.
On a totally unrelated note, does anyone know how tight the new Camaro’s trunk is? I would have a lot of stuff to pack back there, and am just wondering how much gear and tackle and other stuff I could fit in there without damaging anything.
BTW, this gay stuff is *gross*.
When does Government Motors put out a Camawow Bawney Fwank Special Edition? (BF-SE)
It would have to include a pre-pubescent male-ometer and alert system, for the intended market.
On a related note, did you hear that Wacko Jacko was going to leave his body to science, but they discovered he was made up of way too much plastic, so they decided to recycle him into lego so children could play with him instead of the other way around.
(badump-bump-ching!)
And that’s why I won’t buy anything from GM!
The Camaro may end up creating a whole new demographic – gays with mullets.
JellyMunchkin:
I lol’d.
I really fail to see what the problem with this is. Car companies (and every other industry on the planet) have been using hot chicks to sell their products for years. (See import magazines, or every auto show ever) What’s wrong with throwing a hot guy or two into the mix?
You can alienate your heterosexual male prospective buyers. That´s what is wrong.
Most heterosexual men are reluctant to buy a “chick´s car” or a “gay´s car”.
20 years ago SEAT launched a “SEAT Ibiza Amigo” (”Amigo” means “Male friend” in Spanish) with open male homosexual imaginery. I would not be caught dead in one of those cars.
I have nothing against homosexuals, but I do not want to be mistaken as one of them.
Some of those colours are not very appealing, but some of them are kind of awesome. Especially the Moulin Rouge colour they stole from Chryco.
.I have nothing against homosexuals, but I do not want to be mistaken as one of them.
I’m willing to bet a strait guy driving a SEAT Ibiza Amigo is going to get more pu**y than a guy in a Camero. Fast cars for guys are like high heels for woman. A man doesn’t buy a fast car to impress women* he does it to impress other men. A woman doesn’t buy expensive high heels to impress men, she does it to impress other women.
* He may buy an expensive car to impress women but fast /= expensive.
jmo is completely right, gay men have a ton of money. There is probably a pretty strong correlation between the determination that it takes to “come out” and the determination that it takes to be a high achiever. Plus, no kids, I would trade the risk of getting someone pregnant for a higher risk of AIDS seven days out of the week.
The white trash market that people associate with the old F-body cannot afford a $23-35K car, particularly now that lenders are doing proper underwriting.
The conservatives that have money don’t boycott over childish things like being upset at a company marketing to gays. If they boycott it will be because their tax money was wasted on an ad that didn’t even air.
A is A:
I don’t want to be seen in a “homo” car either. I was considering the 300 HP 6-speed V6 version of the Camaro, but because of this I’m probably going to be sticking with my Miata.
I’m growing tired of this type of marketing to gay men, as though our product needs are all that much different from anyone else’s…or worse yet, that we’re not intelligent enough to see through the pandering.
But then again, I’m one of the conservative, suburb-dwelling, degreed-professional ones, so maybe my opinion is drowned out by the outrageously dressed, flamboyant ones.
I’m one of the conservative, suburb-dwelling, degreed-professional ones, so maybe my opinion is drowned out by the outrageously dressed, flamboyant ones.
Sorry, there bud. We don’t care about your intellectual abilities, your interestes, or your accomplishments. Nope. Just as women used to be completely defined by their sexuality, gays are now pigeonholed.
Too bad for you, but that’s the way it is. The current social meme is that, if you’re gay, you have to buy the flaming pink Camaro. Can’t have a black one. Sorry.
“the video was not appropriate and not in good taste.”
So what about all the tasteless cars that GM has been attempting to sell for thirty years or so? It would have been nice if they’d have responded with surgical precision regarding their terrible designs all that time, then they wouldn’t be in such a mess right now. I didn’t see the video, but I’m sure it’s no worse than a wet t-shirt contest. IMHO, the best target markets for this kind of car are “the gays”, DINKS, and empty nesters. Of those three demgoraphic groups, only the first one would be considered a marketing “influencer.”
However I’m sure that this move by GM will appeal to the Camaro’s natural demographic… a thirty-five year old male that’s never been on an airplane, doesn’t own a necktie, lives in a rented basement and has a credit score of 600.
I say, let the guys-who-like-guys have their way with the Camaro. They have the cash. It’s amazing what someone can afford when they live in a double income home with no kids, stay-at-home moms, or ex-wives to support.
Duplicate post
BuzzDog:
This advertizing is saying that your product needs are not different. Same Camaro (not a pink special edition), but instead of the marketing people putting women on the hood they used men.
I’m the kind of person that likes to keep cars and sex separate, and hates when a woman is blocking the picture of the car, so I empathize with you.
But with this ad the marketers were treating gay guys exactly the same as they have always treated straight guys “here is a scantily clad version of the sex you like on the hood, now come buy the car.”
Moreover, because of the “white dude with a mullet” stigma attached to the Camaro it is an important car to advertize the car to gays, women (they might like hot guys on the hood also), minorities, etc.
The new Camaro might be a great car, but people aren’t going to buy it if they think it will make them look like a homophobic, sexist, racist guy that lives in a trailer. Advertizing to gays is one way to dispel that stigma and possibly make the Camaro look like a progressive car to all customers.
Too bad for you, but that’s the way it is. The current social meme is that, if you’re gay, you have to buy the flaming pink Camaro. Can’t have a black one. Sorry.
Lokkii, I want to really thank you for making me laugh today. Too bad I was drinking coffee (plain brewed, black, no foamy milk or flavors) at the same time!
Overall I think the “white trash” stigma is GM’s biggest problem, much larger than quality perception.
If people cared about quality then no European brand except for maybe Volvo (pre-FWD) and Mercedes (pre-1990s) would have ever had any success in the US. Certainly not Saab, VW or anything from Britain or Italy.
But what people aren’t willing to do is drive a low quality car that makes them look like white trash.
A lot of this has to do with styling and interior materials, but overtly advertising to gay people, perhaps in a more tasteful way, is one way that GM can overcome this stigma and sell more cars to everyone.
while i didn’t see the ad, the fact it was produced for GM’s gay days at the movies promotion says to me that it was appropriate. Not that it matters much, as probably only 10% of my friends are “car guys” like me.
“The new Camaro might be a great car, but people aren’t going to buy it if they think it will make them look like a homophobic, sexist, racist guy that lives in a trailer. Advertizing to gays is one way to dispel that stigma and possibly make the Camaro look like a progressive car to all customers.”
Yeah, right. You’re seriously delusional. What GM CORRECTLY understands is that for every gay guy they might sell on the Camaro with this style of advertising, they will lose 100 sales… not very bright marketing.
no_slushbox – I also think that the demographics of the new car buyer has changed more than GM was/is able to deal with.
The market used to be the white mullet who got a union job making $28/hr working the line. Those days are over. Now, it’s the 23yo Asian kid with an engineering degree who’s making 55k and shopping new WRX, GTI, Civic Si etc. Or the 32yo gay marketing director who’s out looking for a fun car because he doesn’t have to save for his kids college.
GM – it seems to me – is still stuck in its mid 60
s heyday.
You’re seriously delusional. What GM CORRECTLY understands is that for every gay guy they might sell on the Camaro with this style of advertising, they will lose 100 sales… not very bright marketing.
Yes, a gay camaro ad during sports center might be a problem. But a gay ad in Out or manhunt.com or on Logo isn’t going to be seen by your average strait guy.
Wolven:
If you’re talking about the scantily clad guys washing a car part you might be right, regarless of the effect on straight customers that would turn off some gay customers, like BuzzDog.
But if you’re talking about simply associating the Camaro with gay people then you’re dead wrong. Put a Camaro ad on network tv with a gay couple driving the car (not flaming, but obviously a couple), and it will only help the Camaro’s sales and image.
It will piss some people off, but that doesn’t matter because they can’t afford the car. Even if they have the money for a new car they need to get SUVs or minivans for their wives.
“But a gay ad in Out or manhunt.com or on Logo isn’t going to be seen by your average strait guy.”
Begs the question; Perhaps it’s not the real “straight” guys that are having such a problem with this. It’s the ones who feel they are right on the edge of turning gay that are concerned! Y’know, the straight guys that just glance at the Logo channel a couple extra seconds or happen upon a gay site by accident, and then bookmark it.
Perhaps GM is just continuing to go after the same market they had previously targeted with the commercial for the soon-to-be-extinct Hummer H2 SUT.
FWIW, I had always heard that gay men preferred 3-series BMWs while lesbians like Subarus. If true, I can’t imagine either group cross-
dressingshopping a Camaro.In any case, it got GM some buzz being both edgy and moral.
What people have failed to mention is the fact that the new Camaro’s styling already panders to the mullet crowd. Like the stereotypical trailer trash the Camaro has traditionally reeled in, the car is overweight, bloated, tacky and stylistically overwrought. It looks more like a Hot Wheels toy designed by a high-schooler rather than a serious driving machine. The Mustang, by comparison, has always been a classier and less overtly adolescent car. Unfortunately, marketing to gays isn’t the answer. To the average urbanite, the Camaro is pure kitsch, a campy bit of ludicrous Americana, and the newest styling does little to dispel its fraught heritage. My guess is that GM realizes that the Camaro’s traditional audience is economically strained and – in typical GM fashion – the powers-that-be are panicking and making desperate marketing moves. The time and place to design a truly sophisticated and international Camaro has come and gone, and once the car ceases to be a novelty, I expect sales to crater. If GM truly cared about reaching upscale customers with this car, they would’ve designed something more along the lines of the Corvette rather than unleash the current bulbous monstrosity.
@uglyamerican:
The Mustang, by comparison, has always been a classier and less overtly adolescent car.
I disagree 100%. The Mustang’s history is filled with “tacky stylistically overwrought” vehicles complete with T-tops, decal packages, hood pins, and nonfuntional scoops. They deserve the “Mullet-mobile” rep (which I personally disagree with) just as much as the GM pony cars.
_
My evidence:
Mustang Mach 1
Mustang King Cobra. (Tell me how a ‘78 Trans Am is tackier)
GT500 Super Snake
Shelby GT
If GM truly cared about reaching upscale customers with this car, they would’ve designed something more along the lines of the Corvette rather than unleash the current bulbous monstrosity.
What I don’t think GM really understands is, the American new car buying public is a much more educated, sophisticated and upscale group than it was back in the 1960’s. For example, in 1965 only 45% of the +25yo population had even graduated from high school, let alone college. The % over 25 with a bachelors degree has quadrupled from 1960 to 2006. GM is still trying to sell to the ignorant masses(aka the mullets), a group that is much smaller and much poorer than it used to be.
“GM is still trying to sell to the ignorant masses(aka the mullets), a group that is much smaller and much poorer than it used to be.”
I think we’re getting off topic a bit. But I will say that I happen to like the new Camaro design. I’m an educated, 39 y/o VP level guy living in Manhattan, and I find the style to be one of the most exciting, artfully designed vehicles launched in a long time. The last gen Camaro was permitted to become a hillybilly car because it was crude and never grew up. The new one looks really sharp and has the R&D to back it up. If being more educated means that everyone has to drive a Camry or a 3-series, then well, yuck.
Just sayin
@jmo Does a degree really make you want to buy a Prius?
I would say that it’s mostly the economy that hinders the sale of Camaro type-o-cars. It wasn’t mullets who made Mustangs and Camaro a success. It was working family men, with and without a degree. They just had money to spare.
I’m an educated, 39 y/o VP level guy living in Manhattan, and I find the style to be one of the most exciting, artfully designed vehicles launched in a long time.
When are you picking yours up? It’s one thing to say you like it – it’s a much bigger leap to say you’ve actually bought one.
It was working family men, with and without a degree. They just had money to spare.
There are far fewer of those guys than before. The financial burden of raising children is much higher, the wages of those marginally educated are much lower. Thus, the number of working family men in the market for a new two door sports car is significantly lower.
@jmo Does a degree really make you want to buy a Prius?
Maybe not a Prius. But, it does tend to make one more likely to buy something practical and reliable. The median father in 1969 wasn’t as concerned with spending the equivalent of $1200 on soccer camp for little Jonnny or making sure he was putting $250 a month in the 529 plan. The median father in 1969 might have been more willing to indulge in a new GTO.
jmo Exactly, but my point was that education hasn’t really got much to do with it. Degrees don’t make men more car realists.
Alas I do agree that GM hasn’t got any idea about who they are trying to sell to (or what they are selling).
@jmo Does a degree really make you want to buy a Prius?
Maybe not a Prius. But, it does tend to make one more likely to buy something practical and reliable.
True. However, there are dozens upon dozens of practical and reliable vehicles to choose from. You can buy a Malibu and not have your neighbor think you are white trash…well anywhere but maybe DC.
my point was that education hasn’t really got much to do with it.
What about education in the larger sense as in exposure to new concepts and ideas. For example, in 1965 only 10% of those from 20-25 years old had a bachelors degree it is now over 30%. The average new car buyer is far more likely to have go away to school and been exposed to people with different tastes than he/she might have grown up with. You might come from a town where everyone drives Ford or GM pickups but you go to school with kids who drive BMW, VW, Honda, Toyota and your peer group can certainly influences your vehicle preferences.
However, there are dozens upon dozens of practical and reliable vehicles to choose from. You can buy a Malibu and not have your neighbor think you are white trash…
Perceptions change slowly – if you pulled into any office park from Ft. Lauderdale to Tacoma in Malibu people would think – “Good looking car, but… a Chevy? I bet he got it because it had a few thousand on the hood and 72 months of 0% financing.”
I have nothing against homosexuals, but I do not want to be mistaken as one of them.
I would be willing to bet pretty much every car today is advertised in gay media. Short of the famous stereotypes, i.e. triple white VW Cabriolet, not much out there is considered a “gay car”. In this particular instance, very few heterosexual men would have ever found out about it because they’re not going to “Gay Days at the Movies”.
But if you really want to never be mistaken for being gay, follow this advice. Whenever you’re in a store, purchase some tampons or some other feminine hygiene product. You’re obviously not buying it for yourself.
Perceptions change slowly – if you pulled into any office park from Ft. Lauderdale to Tacoma in Malibu people would think – “Good looking car, but… a Chevy? I bet he got it because it had a few thousand on the hood and 72 months of 0% financing.”
Good point, and one we’ve discussed before on TTAC.
It’s an unfortunate perception – and one I pray that the U.S. automakers can shake – but there is some truth to the fact that the purchase of a domestic car (NOT an SUV, pickup or CUV) tends to make some people wonder about the owner’s monetary resources and/or credit.
This hit home when I saw such a comment on TTAC for the first time, and then remembered a colleague saying that a financially struggling relative bought an Avenger because “she really wanted a Toyota or Honda, but couldn’t qualify for financing at the dealer.”
@jmo Well yes some of the exposed wouldn’t dream about a new Camaro but still, a large portion of the populations (including Swedens) are proxy-nostalgic farts.
@BuzzDog That’s interesting. Does the regular car buyer in the states go for a cheaper new car rather than a used car of the brand they initially wanted?
@ddrone: It depends.
If the buyer is afraid of repair costs, the benefits of a new car warranty can make a less capable model more attractive than a well-engineered, but expensive to repair used one.
Then too, new cars are more likely to be eligible for 60- and 72-month financing, whereas the maximum term allowed on a used car decreases as the vehicle gets older. So on a four-year-old vehicle, a lender may only be willing to finance for up to 36- or 48-months. So the payments will naturally be lower on a 60-month loan, even though the overall cost of borrowing may be markedly higher.
ddrone,
As buzzdog said a buyer in extremis financially might be able to afford the $300 a month for a 10 year 100,000 mile warrantied Kia Rio or a lifetime powertrain warrantied Dodge. But, if they finace a $5,000 Honda and it dumps its transmission they are, as we say, f*cked.