Bass Hotels & Resorts, Hot Tub
Two businessmen relax opposite each other in a hot tub, discussing their day at work.
They are mid-conversation, as one of the men says, "About Zach, yeah..."
The other adds that he's very proud of Zach.
Puzzled, the first businessman clarifies: "Really?"
The audience infers they're talking about a business presentation earlier in the day when he responds, "Yeah, I thought you both did great today."
Zach approaches the hot tub, and is welcomed: "Hey Zach. How you doin'?"
Zach doesn't respond but slides into the whirlpool, placing himself directly next to one of the other men. He sighs to confirm his satisfaction as sinks in...next to (and touching) his business colleague, then doesn't move away.
After a pregnant pause, the already-soaking businessman feels his space is invaded, and scoots a couple feet away. He verbalizes nothing, but shows extreme discomfort in his face at his colleague's brief disregard for proper heterosexual male behavior.
The screen reads: "Relaxing Pools and Hot Tubs," and the Holiday Inn logo appears.
The ad earns a Negative rating because the "violated" businessman overreacts, and there is no attempt at inclusive humor.
Is it safe to assume that homosexuals have no sense of personal boundaries and does your assessment of the "extreme discomfort in his face at his colleague's brief disregard for proper heterosexual behavior" feed into that possible assumption? Sure, it's not great advertising -- I guess the gist is HI's accoutrements are so relaxing that people lose sense of inhibition...but it hardly portrays homophobic or anti-gay behavior. It's not about internalized homophobia, but rather an established boundary.