WHERE SUCCESSFUL ADVERTISING MEETS LGBT EQUALITY

Diageo, Thief

Members:

In a bar, three smartly dressed young men and a woman are playing pool. She sniffs her glass to take in the sweet aroma of the drink, then moves to shoot.

After taking her shot, she notices that her glass of Baileys is empty. Teasingly eager to find out who drank it, she goes close to the lips of the men, who are now playing innocent. She sniffs the breath of the first man, then the second man. When she reaches the third man, she smells it and kisses him.

The last shot has her in his arms and the other two men with their arms around each other, mirroring the male-female embrace opposite them. The setup suggests a game of pool between two couples. The tagline: "Let your senses guide you."

This ad nicely incorporates a male-female and apparent male couple together so seamlessly that it is almost missed. Another version of the ad has aired that cuts out the two men embracing at the end.

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Media Outlet
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JWT
User Comments
Anna
I saw this ad to and if you notice after she sniffs the second guy's breath she looks towards the first guy. Apparently showing she knows the two of them are together. I noticed this on the version with the two guys embracing each other. Great ad.

Jo Moriarty
Yes, this version was changed in The UK. The guys do not hug at the end and Blondie's 'One way or another' plays in the background. I guess this change shows how uptight we really are.

Tim Kelly
Yes, this ad was very popular in Australia a couple of years ago, but it was the "censored" version :( Do you think they edit it for countries that may be considered less accepting of homosexuality? Or perhaps the "full" version is a special cut aired at certain times/channels to target a gay audience?

Carlos
The girl is the best. Any chances of getting pictures of her in the ad?

Richard
I just saw the version of the ad where both couples hug (at 3ish AM on cable). I've seen the other version before, on cable during daytime or prime time. I must say I'm very pleased to have seen the uncut version. It's so sweet! I may have to drink more Baileys.

Jack Marr
I am wondering if the song in the soundtrack is commercial or a specially written score.

Lee
This is the first time I've seen an ad here that's played where I live, however, re-edited. I'm just so disappointed. I bet it was on channel nine. It sounds like something they would do.

Alessandro Cintoli
Amazing....This is a famous and very suggestive Baileys ad but the finale was changed in Italy (and probably Europe, though I am not sure). After the girl recognizes the man who snatched her Baileys drink and kisses him, the other two guys turn towards an invisible bartender, raise their right arm simultaneously and shout: "BAILEYS!" To imply that if you drink this liqueur you're sure to hitch a girl. Yeah, right. :-) I don't remember the tagline for this version. The gay innuendo is totally lost with this variation of the finale, anyway. Thank you for revealing the original version. It's curious that after seeing this ad, I stopped drinking Baileys at clubs, simply because it disappeared from the shelves. Boycott???

KellyAnn Tucci
Are you kidding me? Did I miss something here? Are you asking us to now assume that anytime there are two men or women standing within a 2 foot proximity of each other they must be a gay couple? C'mon...

Jamie
I agree with Kelly -- this ad is so subtle that I wouldn't even consider it gay. In fact, that's exactly why the "gay" is so easily edited out in other versions!

Richard
I just saw the version of the ad where both couples hug (at 3ish AM on cable). I'd seen the other version before (on cable during daytime or prime time). I must say I'm very pleased to have seen the uncut version. It's so sweet! I may have to drink more Baileys.

Irving Schlebotnik
You know, I think I've seen this ad but without the part where the guys hold each other.

Brian Loggins
I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure I saw a version of this ad where she actually kisses each guy in turn. That's why the first guy has such an odd look with his lips pursed--because she just kissed him. I'm almost positive about this, because I remember seeing the current version and being surprised about the change. As a little side note, I LOVE this ad. I'll be sure and employ that same method the next time I'm in that situation.

Josu
I watched a preview of this ad for a market test in Spain, and in the version I saw the girl kissed the lips of the three guys to check who had drunk the Baileys and it ended with the two guys asking for Baileys to the waiter, as in the Italian version!!! I think this version was later showed in Spanish TV (not sure). I still found the ad very appealing (they guys are cute), but certainly any suggestion that the guys were gay was out. It seems they make a lot of takes, and with a little bit of editing they can tailor the same ad for many different audiences (and countries).Josu