WHERE SUCCESSFUL ADVERTISING MEETS LGBT EQUALITY

Lifetime Entertainment Services, Reunion-Kiss

Members:

A promotional ad supporting the cable "network for women" -- and, as the common joke goes, for gay men too -- tries to elicit memories with a slice of modern day reality.

The camera (in first-person point-of-view) moves toward a man at a class reunion party. A female voiceover says, "Lifetime brings you more emotion in one week than when you saw your old boyfriend and he introduced you...to HIS boyfriend."

Both men are flamboyantly dressed in all red and have wide smiles, then one gives the other a peck on the cheek. (Doesn't everyone do that to their partner when they're introduced to others?)

"It's a week of bittersweet reunions," the voiceover continues, listing programs on the network (including openly lesbian Ellen DeGeneres' "Ellen").

The closing shot, from the first-person camera view, is now on the floor looking up and the two men are waving air into the woman's face -- implying she fainted from the shock.

The commercial (also with a non-kiss version) ran on ABC after 9:30, so children wouldn't be exposed to such a racey idea. Although it included "Ellen" in the program lineup, this isn't a particularly progressive ad. Despite its light hearted intentions, the men were stereotypically feminine and the woman's faint seems a bit unlikely.

User Comments
Cherie Cotton
Lifetime is at least "going there", give them credit for that. Could have done without the fainting...but I thought it was very good otherwise. Thanks Lifetime!

Karl
Hey, I was the (gay) copywriter on this spot. Negative portrayal?! I think you people need to lighten up a little bit.

Geoff
What could possibly be negative about this ad? It's fun, camp and light-hearted. I thought it was great -- but then maybe I have a sense of humour! Well done Karl (the guy who wrote it).