THE SHOT — For the Swedish furniture company Ikea, this was just another of its gay-affirming ads, telling shoppers, “We are open to all families … With us you will feel at home. What we want to do is make life easier for everyone, every family, every couple, whoever they are.” But for a local paper in Sicily, where the spot appears, it’s “provocative” and obviously “just a brazen marketing strategy” that’s “not awareness of gay rights for gay couples.” Well, uh, duh? Because not every representation of gay couples in the media has to be about advocacy? But sometimes, you know, just showing us as normal, boring folks who enjoy spending 6-8 hour assembling a bed frame? Not surprisingly, the newspaper opining about the ad — and generating more free press for Ikea than that campaign ever could — is Il Giornale, owned by prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, and we all know what he thinks about you and your special rights. [via]
Jim Hlavac
Ah, but when will we see the gay ad, or even just a picture of a gay couple, in a straight environment that actually has the happy smiling couple facing the camera instead of somehow ashamed to show their faces?
chpinnlr
@Jim Hlavac: How abouth in this commercial from Ikea from over 6 yeears ago! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67_RHiXNk-s