WHERE SUCCESSFUL ADVERTISING MEETS LGBT EQUALITY

d skin, Road Kill

Members:

A young man waits by the side of the road in a remote desert location, casually listening to headphones. When he sees a truck in the distance, he sticks out his thumb nonchalantly to hitch a ride.

After the truck screeches to a halt, the young hitchhiker opens the door to find an angry looking shirtless driver -- with a one-eyed Chihuahua on his enormous belly.

As he climbs in, the truck's music is skipping and the young man rolls his eyes. As they're riding, the Chihuahua looks at him with it's eye and the music continues to skip. Out of patience, the rider reaches up, ejects the CD and flings it out the window -- the driver's bizarre two-toned eyes bulge, enraged at the man's gall.

The rider takes out the d_skin covered CD from his Walkman and places it into the truck's CD player.

The truck driver realizes the advantage of the change and soon both men are laughing. The driver then pulls his passenger close and kisses the side of his face -- the rider is now unhappy.

While many may see this as friendship, some may interpret this action as more than friendliness.

User Comments
Lee
As a gay man, I thought the ad was true to life and gave me a real slice of what being out there waiting for a hitch would be like. It was humorous without being condescending or homophobic. The ad had just the right light touch to get its point across to everyone. At the beginning of the ad, I thought I was going to be offended by some stereotypical violence towards a likely gay hitcher, but I saw it as a happy ending for both with humor! The ad left me wondering about my own various endings on the road of life; the ever restless youth in travel.

Shay
I really liked this commercial because the cinematography is interesting and it speaks volumes even though neither of its characters speak. I did not see, however, any homosexuality in the commercial at all. I just saw an over appreciative truck driver who likes Cajun music. I thought the ad was very good at making its point and keeping the viewer interested without leaving him or her too confused. I also love the music in the commercial.

Chuck
This is not homophobic at all. In fact, dare I say it, the ad is sweet. Who'd ever guess they'd like the same music?

Greg
I think the editor has missed his mark. I don't see any gay content in the imagery. I think the point the ad was trying to make was that this product is so great that it can even bring together a red neck trucker and a guy from the hood. Both of the characters are stereotypes, but not gay ones.