WHERE SUCCESSFUL ADVERTISING MEETS LGBT EQUALITY

Coors Brewing Co., Beer Man

Members:

George Wendt, who once played Norm Peterson on "Cheers," runs across a long, green field, to a romantic love song ( a variation of The Carpenters' "Close to You") -- seemingly to fall into the arms of a woman. Making note that he is overweight through an unflattering closeup on his rear, he quickly tires and stops, doubled over for breath.

But then his "romantic" interest shows up -- the beer man at a baseball game, who coyly winks at him. "I think you're beautiful," says Wendt, a fan who has crossed the field in search of a beer salesman. "Gee, thanks," the vendor replies awkwardly, as Wendt painfully clarifies: "I was talking to the beer."

The final shot shows that the two men are holding up a game as they stand on the field.

The ad message invokes same-sex romance, only to bring a slightly negative bite at the end in the tone. A company seeking the gay market so desperately as Coors has in recent years could fashion a smarter commercial.

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User Comments
Ken
Uh, duh! He was in "Cheers" and he loves BEER. Stupid. Excellent, non-threatening commercial.

Todd Hill
Only vaguely offensive but pervasively boring. We already know that much of the world is populated by blobby (hetero) Homer Simpson clones running on only one firing brain neuron (which is focused on beer). Why would TV viewers ever need or want to see more of that? Also, the response of the beer vendor was entirely too ambiguous for me to figure out. Coors has a long-standing, low-rent/white trash image. Maybe they oughta focus on fixing that instead?

Jamison
Stupid, annoying, trivial, and offensive. Exactly what you'd expect from Coors (or any beer company), but did it really have to have George Wendt in it?

Bill
Well considering this commercial is for Coors, a company which has for years been known for being discriminatory against gays, I can't say the commercial is that much of a surprise if you choose to view it as anti-gay. I personally never did see it that way and I am gay, so...It was a fun little ad and I am more concerned about the fact that a man is so enamored of a beer that he would declare his love for it. Seems to me he could use a good detox and rehab center.

Ken
I too didn't find this anti-gay. In fact, I find it pretty gay friendly because the vendor is obviously gay and not stereotyped ('cause I know how much ya'll hate those!) and Wendt wasn't repulsed by the vendor's suppositions but merely cleared them up.

Dean Morris
The editor tends to treat body types that don't fit the model type as offensive. These guys are chubs, a bear-related type, and the butt shot and side lighting of the salesman are sexy to gays and bi's who look like this. By the way, many men DO look like this, and inserting a little sexy thrill into the beer (or whatever) purchase is fun (self-mocking) and funny (switcheroo punch line that only half-ignores homoeroticism).