New Amazon Kindle Commercial Features Warm Breezes, Gay Twist

[E. Q. Taft]

This charming, LGBT-inclusive TV spot for the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite should help warm up your Wednesday:

http://www.hrc.org/blog/entry/new-ki...ezes-gay-twist

[Kallah]

Even though I know it's exactly what they were going for, and that I'm just being targeted like any other demographic, that made me smile.

[GenYus234]

Was anyone else expecting the woman to be a lesbian? It had a "man hitting on the woman, not going to be successful" vibe to it.

[E. Q. Taft]

I think they kind of did that on purpose, to make the opposite twist more effective. (Though, I thought the way the guy is wearing his shirt might be seen as something of a gay stereotype, maybe intended as a tip-off.)

[ToadMagnet]

Originally Posted by E. Q. Taft

I think they kind of did that on purpose, to make the opposite twist more effective. (Though, I thought the way the guy is wearing his shirt might be seen as something of a gay stereotype, maybe intended as a tip-off.)

I guess I was too busy being annoyed that he had his shirt on at all to notice a stereotype - what was it? Partially unbuttoned? Makes sense at the beach if a guy's not going shirtless.

[LizzyBean]

That was adorable. Yay for Amazon.

[E. Q. Taft]

Hmmm....YouTube has taken the video down: "A violation of YouTube's policy against spam, scams, and commercially deceptive content." Huh?

You can still see it here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...?ir=Gay+Voices

I had remembered the shirt as more open and showing some midriff. So I withdraw my earlier comment, and chastise myself for mental stereotyping.

[Ryda Wong, EBfCo.]

Wow! That was really refreshing!

[Mosherette]

Barclays bank had an ad last year for their new debit card you can put your own photo on. Cue lots of people in photo booths having their pics taken and then the card popping out with their favourite pic on it. One of the couples was two men; no fuss, no bother, just a same-sex couple doing what everyone else was doing.

Shame Barclays is a bit of a crap company but hey, it's a start!

[Mickey Blue]

While the "it should be normal, not bad or special" is the ultimate goal of homosexual relationships I think it's unreasonable not to expect (in the US at least, can't speak for overseas) a commercial that features a gay couple to be noticed, and if you are going to point it out I think doing it like the OP is a good plan. Yes, the fact that he is gay is a twist, and obviously the focus of the commercial, but they didn't make him (or, his husband) a stereotype in themselves nor was the fact that they were gay a 'joke' exactly.

I think it was a good commercial, funny and a good twist I'd not have seen coming were it not for the thread title.

[Phantom]

I meant to put this in the thread under 'Commercials You Actually Like'. I liked the surprise and gay-friendly twist.

[erwins]

Originally Posted by Mickey Blue

While the "it should be normal, not bad or special" is the ultimate goal of homosexual relationships

The ultimate goals of homosexual relationships are the same as for heterosexual relationships (and can vary just as much): love, sex, companionship, children, marriage, etc. Acceptance isn't the goal of the relationship.

I suppose this could be seen as a nitpick, but it's actually quite an important distinction in a world where bigots take things like a same-sex couple holding hands is "shoving it down their thoats," and being "in your face." That is, some people think that the goal of these relationships really is to make a statement, or make others uncomfortable, or "recruit" others, or to deliberately be depraved, and so on.

[Mickey Blue]

Sorry I meant in how they are portrayed in media; much like the race of a couple is not usually relevant to the commercial (though obviously white is still typical and you see few mixed race couples so we aren't 'there yet') the sexual preference should be as well.

The ultimate goal, with regards for media, should be "Who cares" when it comes to the sexuality of the fictional couple used to sell whatever product. But, since we aren't there yet, having a positive portrayal is better than a stereotypical one or none at all.

[Skeptic]

Originally Posted by GenYus234

Was anyone else expecting the woman to be a lesbian? It had a "man hitting on the woman, not going to be successful" vibe to it.

Um, maybe just a little.