Right America Feeling Wronged

In 2008, when Out Now included South Carolina in a gay marketing campaign in the UK, local SC politicians reacted strongly against it. Perhaps this video - filmed in America just a few weeks later - places what happened into some kind of clearer perspective.


Ian Johnson, Out Now
March 28, 2009

TOPICS: Lesbian and gay marketing. LGBT community. Out Now. Amro Worldwide. US election campaign. John McCain. Sarah Palin. Democrats. Republicans. US conservative voters. Nancy Pelosi. HBO. Barack Obama. Homophobia. HBO TV special about right wing voters and their reactions against the election of Barack Obama.

The election campaign of 2008 was historic as it put a non-white US President into the White House.

But this does not sit well with the more than 50 million people who voted against Barack Obama.

At Gay Market News we do business, not politics - but the HBO special "Right America Feeling Wronged" is quite unsettling but compelling viewing.

Some of the supporters of John McCain and Sarah Palin could be described as "less than sympathetic" - at best - to the rights of equality under the US constitution for American lesbians and gay men.

From a door-knocking supporter of McCain:

"Our neighbours are...Can I say it? Two lesbians live there. They just put the Obama sign out. Interesting. No, I'm too afraid of them (to doorknock their house)."

One man interviewed says:

"I'm in the South! America might be ready for a black President, but the South aint. If it were left up to me - you wouldn't vote if you are a woman."

Maybe that helps explain the strong negative reactions of politicians in the South to the Out Now "So Gay" advertising campaign for Amro Worldwide. If the voters do not like it, their elected politicians are more likely to smell the electoral breeze and react accordingly.

As I told Associated Press last Summer:

"The politicians have a problem with gay people or believe that many of their constituents have a problem with gay people," said Johnson, who said he is gay. "That's politics, but it doesn't make it right."

Rest assured that we know full well that this particular set of people do not reflect all supporters of the US Republican Party.

But surely it is disturbing to hear one interviewee, when asked what McCain supporters had in common, say:

"We all hate the same things".

No matter which side of politics you personally support, John McCain - with a long political career and history of fighting for his own country surely deserved a better justification than that as a reason to be voted for.
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To learn how to get lesbian and gay marketing strategy right -- rely on gay marketing expert strategic advice from Out Now -- the leading experienced global strategic gay marketing, research and communications agency.

Gay Advertising Seen By Millions

Last year the misguided actions of some conservative US politicians turned a modest London gay travel advertising campaign into a global gay marketing sensation. Learn how.


Ian Johnson, Out Now
March 26, 2009

TOPICS: Lesbian and gay advertising. LGBT marketing. Out Now. Amro Worldwide. AdWeek. The "So Gay" advertising campaign - what really happened.

Last summer millions of people worldwide learned about an Out Now gay market travel advertising campaign. Here's why.

Yesterday in Gay Market News, we wrote about AdWeek describing the Out Now 'So Gay' campaign as "the year's most talked about tourism ads".

This is what happened.

Last summer in London a modest advertising campaign by a specialist gay tour operator created something of a media sensation.

The 'So Gay' advertising campaign - comprising 56 poster advertising panels lining the escalators at two of London's underground Tube subway stations - was a co-operative venture between Amro Worldwide and six US tourism destinations.

The advertising was created by global gay marketing specialist agency, Out Now, and was originally scheduled to appear for two weeks during London's annual gay Pride celebrations.

The campaign was expected to be seen by just two million people passing by on the escalators. Ultimately it became a campaign whose reach extended far beyond this - as it became known to a worldwide media audience of many millions of people.

The case provides an almost textbook example to politicians on the risks they choose to take when interfering in business decisions made by their own authorized marketing authorities.

All was going well in London during July 2008 until the governor of South Carolina - one of the six destinations participating in the 'So Gay' marketing campaign - heard of the advertising happening in London. Governor Mark Sanford then reportedly directed the South Carolina Parks Recreation and Tourism (SCPRT) Department to remove it .

This was never done by SCPRT, and the advertising posters remained in the Leicester Square Tube station for several months. Media worldwide took up the story, and the 'So Gay' advertising story became a global phenomenon.

According to Andrew Roberts, CEO of Amro Worldwide, the campaign was a good business decision for almost all concerned.

"Amro Worldwide has just had its busiest January ever," Roberts reports. "Our sales are currently double what they were this time last year. The rebranding and advertising work undertaken for us by Out Now has played a large part of that. Gay marketing is becoming increasingly mainstream, and it really seems such a shame that South Carolina politicians could not understand that the business opportunities more than justify the initial decision to be part of such an advertising campaign."

Ian Johnson, CEO of Out Now, said the 'So Gay' campaign was a very successful one.

"Out Now works for tourism agencies around the world, and the marketing effectiveness of a simple idea is proved yet again by this campaign," Johnson said. "To take 'So Gay' from an insult to high praise was a great outcome of our campaign in London. We are most pleased we were able to help Amro Worldwide, and almost all of the destinations in the campaign, to increase their share of the lucrative gay and lesbian travel market. It really is unfortunate that the South Carolina politicians chose to shoot their local tourism industry in the foot by rejecting what was always a smart tourism business decision to get involved in the 'So Gay' advertising campaign."

The industry leading publication AdWeek.com in their 2008 year-end wrap-up recently described the Out Now 'So Gay' campaign for Amro Worldwide as "the year's most talked about tourism ads."

"All the other destinations made good returns on their investment in the 'So Gay' campaign," Johnson said. "It really is ironic, and very disappointing to us, that the intervention of South Carolina's politicians last summer ultimately accomplished only one thing. They managed to damage their own local South Carolina tourism industry for years to come. Surely that is not the job these people were elected to do?"

The Amro Worldwide 'So Gay' poster campaign appeared on escalators in Leicester Square, and in elevators at Covent Garden London Underground stations, from June 27 2008. Two posters are still in place even today at Leicester Square. Featured destinations also included Atlanta, Boston, Las Vegas, New Orleans and Washington DC - all of which were pleased to be part of the "So Gay" campaign.

Copies of the poster can also be found today in many gay bars around the world, and in almost all the gay venues in South Carolina, which most definitely are "so gay".

To download the posters - visit www.amroworldwide.info/sogay.

Video of the 'So Gay' campaign is online at YouTube.com/GayMarketing.

Out Now Consulting is a leading global gay marketing specialist agency, founded in 1992. Clients include Barclays, IBM, Toyota, Citibank, German National Tourist Office, Visit Britain, Lufthansa and Time Inc. Magazines. Out Now recently won the "Outstanding Interactive" category in New York at the 'Images in Advertising' awards for an online campaign for their client Lufthansa.

If you would like Out Now to help you take your marketing to the leading-edge of sales results, please do get in touch.

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To learn how to get lesbian and gay marketing strategy right -- rely on gay marketing expert strategic advice from Out Now -- the leading experienced global strategic gay marketing, research and communications agency.

AdWeek Praises Out Now Gay Advertising

Out Now has enjoyed receiving favorable recognition from various directions over the years. Now, leading US trade publication - AdWeek.com - recognizes our work in creating effective lesbian and gay advertising.


Ian Johnson, Out Now
March 25, 2009

TOPICS: Lesbian and gay advertising. LGBT marketing. Out Now. Amro Worldwide. AdWeek. US advertising industry publication recognizes Out Now gay advertising campaign for UK based client.

Nowadays, traditional approaches to advertising are going the way of the dodo.

Out Now has recognized this, and we consistently adopt leading-edge strategies to make sure our clients achieve the maximum results for their investment in gay marketing activities.

One of our campaigns for UK based gay tour operator - Amro Worldwide - has received high praise from the leading US industry publication Adweek.

In a recent online posting, the publication called Out Now's "So Gay" campaign advertising for Amro "the year's most talked about tourism ads."

High praise we gratefully accept. It is nice when hard work gets noticed. Especially gratifying when it is on such a successful campaign as this one.

Gay media attention

This caught the attention of the leading UK gay online media site PinkPaper.com who reported:

Millions see AMRO's 'So Gay' ad

The world’s leading advertising magazine has dubbed a British gay ad campaign as the “most talked about tourism ad” of 2008.

Adweek has praised the posters for queer British firm Amro Worldwide which used the tagline “So Gay” to promote US destinations.

They appeared in two London underground stations beside the escalators and would have reached 2 million people. But because they caused such controversy, millions more got to hear about them.

South Carolina governor, Mark Sanford, inadvertently boosted the profile of the campaign, when he criticised it.

Out Now's Social Media Web 2.0 Management

These days, our role delivering Out Now 'world's best' gay marketing agency services requires a far wider view of 'media' than was the case in years past.

With the Out Now strategy for Amro, we managed a fast-moving story for the client, with appropriate and ongoing media insertions both via traditional mainstream media journalist interviews but also, very importantly, by way of comments made at online articles, blogs, and social media sites.

This was far from the traditional view of 'advertising' and PR - but was critical to making sure that our client's - and our own - position on the issue was being heard.

This was needed to make sure the facts got out, especially as the authorities that approved the ads, began to backtrack from their position by way of statements we knew to not be true.

Not the most pleasant environment in which to work, but one in which we found ourselves and we delivered great gay market outcomes for our client, as a result of our staying on the story all the way through.

"So Gay" Market Outcomes

In February 2009, Andrew Roberts, CEO of Amro Worldwide reported that the company had just closed out their "busiest January ever" - and, as a direct result of the Out Now rebranding and marketing campaign for them, had achieved in just fourteen weeks their entire previous year's turnover.

The results - as they say - speak for themselves.

Tomorrow we will post Part 2 to this backgrounder update to the "So Gay" story.

If you would like Out Now to help you take your marketing to the leading-edge of sales results, please do get in touch.

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To learn how to get lesbian and gay marketing strategy right -- rely on gay marketing expert strategic advice from Out Now -- the leading experienced global strategic gay marketing, research and communications agency.

ITB + IGLTA = Gay Market Success

Last week in Berlin, the world's largest travel and tourism trade fair, International Tourismus Bourse - or ITB - took place. Gay travel featured very successfully.


Ian Johnson, Out Now
March 23, 2009

Gay and lesbian tourism. Gay travel marketing. Out Now. International Gay and Lesbian Travel association. IGLTA. ITB. International Tourismus Bourse. Berlin. Germany. Gay marketing.

Last week Berlin, Germany saw the annual ITB trade show take place - and gay and lesbian travel played a prominent part.

The growing mainstream awareness, acceptance and embrace of lesbian and gay tourism continues apace.

Out Now attended ITB and my schedule was filled with successful meetings with current and new clients.

We have been visiting ITB for eight years now, and the extent to which lesbian and gay travel is now strongly embraced by the mainstream travel market is radically increased now from the responses we experienced back in 2002, at our first ITB.

The strength of LGBT travel was further evidenced by the highly successful ITB presence of the pre-eminent global gay and lesbian travel organisation - the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association - IGLTA.

In their very first outing at ITB, IGLTA made a big impact.

IGLTA had a small, but prominent high-traffic area display at ITB - one that was consistently busy and being visited by many of the leading players in the world of tourism, travel and marketing.

This was the first year that IGLTA exhibited at ITB, but when I spoke with their Global Ambassador, Tom Nibbio - he assured me it will not be their last.

European Ambassador for IGLTA, Carlos Kytka, was also managing the IGLTA stand which overflowed with IGLTA member exhibitors.

It was really quite inspiring to see the extent to which gay travel is now viewed as an integral and important part of mainstream marketing.

Travel has always been an important part of our client marketing work at Out Now, and from what we are seeing in terms of new client work and the enthusiasm with which IGLTA was met at ITB - this trend shows no sign of abating anytime soon.

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