WHERE SUCCESSFUL ADVERTISING MEETS LGBT EQUALITY

Reebok International, Leeches

Members:

A spoof about survivor skills and two comic guys, Nate and Brian, who clumsily try to enjoy the great outdoors. Nate, the larger of the two, frequently offers bad advice and suggests that they stray from the hiking trail they're on.

In this installment, the pair jumps into a swamp and as they get out, Brian -- who always panics -- is covered in leaches. He tears off his clothes, down to his wet underwear, and Nate starts ripping the leeches off of Brian. But when they discover the leaches are also on Brian's penis, his buddy decides that's too much too much to help with, and walks away saying "You're on your own." At that moment, a woman (a former "Survivor" member) jogs by and says, "Loser."

Some may recognize that storyline from the 1986 film "Stand By Me," an intended reference for viewers.

In another episode, one of the men gets bitten by a snake and the other bends over to suck the venom out of his thigh -- another jogger passing by sees it and it looks like the men are having oral sex.

The campaign polarized ad viewers, according to the USA Today Ad Track Index. It found the spots scored best with younger consumers: 25% of consumers ages 25-29 like them "a lot." The ads generated one of the highest "dislike" scores of the year: 29% disliked them vs. the Ad Track average of 13%. Why? Because 62% of consumers 65 and over disliked them. Yet, the ads scored highest in effectiveness: 22% of consumers think they're "very effective," over the Ad Track average of 24%.

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User Comments
Lauara Young
I don't think the fact someone doesn't want to pull a leech from his/her friend's private parts makes the commercial homophobic. If a lesbian friend of mine had a leech on her genitals, I'd tell her she was on her own too!!

Dom
I couldn't see anything negative in this ad. I wouldn't pull a leech off one of my male friends and I am gay. That's just something you have to do for yourself.

John Mcmillan
Not all gay guys are wimps, as this implies, and just because he (might be) gay, doesn't mean he will always be a victim in life. The audience is encouraged to laugh at the victim, a "victim" of his sexual preference, who is therefore doomed in all that he attempts to do, including being a competitor in a world-class competition. He is marked as sub-human. Degrading.

Russell
Even though leeches show up both on Brian's penis and in [i]The African Queen[/i], their mere presence doesn't make something gay. This commercial is about two guys who spent too much for their hiking footwear.