You may have seen the following ad, whilst watching American Idol or Raising Hope, or some other network program:
And you may have noticed that the (very handsome, hot-legged) man in the ad turns out to be (surprise!) gay at the end. The ad is cute, and the twist is sort of novel for a mainstream company like Amazon, but overall, it is a very tame commercial.
Well the (very likely over-counted) One Million Moms have got their panties in a twist, and are calling for a boycott or a reshoot of the ad, or some such nonsense. Because (GASP!) kids might see it! Now, maybe I'm missing it, but watch the ad again. . .did you see any gay sex there? Were the two gay men even within spitting distance of each other? Could you even tell which of the other two guys was the man's husband? No. The Kindle ad merely presents a reality, that there are some guys out there who are married to other guys. It is a fact of life, everybody, like it or not. The commercial does not "promote" homosexuality (were such a thing even possible), it doesn't glorify the guy sex, and it doesn't portray gay marriage in a "positive light," but rather a matter-of-fact, neutral one.
As a gay forty-something, I found the ad refreshing (if a little goofy). Because--and listen up, less than a million moms--I've been a consumer of TV, movies, magazines and other media for most of my life, and I've seen an infinite number of heterosexual couples portrayed in much more graphic terms. Where kids can see!
[Excerpt]
One Million Moms concerned gay Kindle is the ruination of America
I knew without a doubt that this gay-friendly commercial would cheese off all the right people. I have been checking the One Million Moms website everyday since this commercial was first released. It took them a while, but true to form, today they went full on scold mode and are threatening a boycott of Amazon. . .
Read more at: DailyKos
I agree with you- I hate nannies, whether it is from the left or the right.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, you have the same view about Michael Bloomberg and all his nannyism.
I disagree. I do not believe this add is nutral. It shows gay marrage and being normal and ok lifestyle. I believe it is a sin becaise god says it is. Even if you do not believe in God then evolution would have to be true. And if evolution is true then homosexuallity would not exits because it would be reduced over time by natural selection because those of the gay lifestyle would produce less offspring. Either way the gay lifestyle cannot be normal. You can do what you want but based on this add alone I will never buy again from Amazon. I like the kindle prodcut and have purchased several of them and so I hate not being able to buy any more kindles but I cannot do so ever again.
ReplyDeleteI knew Amazon was gay friendly, but they chose to rub my face in a social issue instead of business, so I sold the Amazon stock I owned. Gay sounds like someone with a smiling problem, not a deviant sex act. I am not approving of any of the homosexual acts. They are hiding perversion under the cloak of discrimination.
Delete"Rub your face in"??? Do a little study, it won't even be difficult: take note of how many romantic (married or not) straight pairings you see in advertising every single day. Then match them against the gay ones. I guarantee you will have a percentage--after a single day--that "rubs your nose in" the heterosexual "lifestyle!"
Delete"Gay" has been used as a term for homosexual people for well over a century. "Deviant" and "perversion" has NOT for several decades. Get your head out of other peoples' business, and join the 21st century. Gay people are a fact of life, and I guarantee that you have some in your family, circle of friends, coworkers and/or daily acquaintences. Your objection to this commercial is anachronistic, judgmental, and out of scale.
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DeleteYour god disapproves of consensual same sex relationships, but apparently condones pedophiliac priests abusing children. Stop hiding behind religion. Religion has nothing to do with it.
DeleteDan: I find Bloomberg's nannyism well intentioned but silly.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous: First, it's "ad," not "add." That's just a pet peeve of mine. Secondly, the ad does nothing of the kind. It presents a reality: that some men are married to other men. There are no comments made about whether it's "natural," or not.
Third through infinity:
- It's not a "lifestyle," it's a life
- I'm an atheist, so don't care what God says, and as an American, I don't have to.
- You don't understand evolution.
- Being gay is normal to me.
- I dare say that Amazon will not hurt for loss of business. In fact, they've likely gained more positive attention than negative from this ad, particularly when you consider that marriage equality now holds a majority positive opinion in the country.
- Thank you for giving me permission to do what I want.
- You're going to have a very hard time finding any kind of product if you're not buying from gay friendly companies. Here's a link about a HUGE number of major corporations who just signed onto an amicus brief to overturn Proposition 8 and DOMA (http://tinyurl.com/a6kq2wr). Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Apple, all of which are gay friendly. Good luck in your cave with a chisel and stone!
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DeleteHaha! Truly a testament to having won an argument. First it said, "Oh, just shut up, pompous moron!" and then it's deleted. That's just friggin' brilliant. You've been beaten, admit it.
DeleteGood post for a good commercial.
ReplyDeleteAnyone upset by this needs to buy a Kindle and READ SOMETHING.
Disgusting commercial
DeleteNever will buy another Kindle product. This makes kids ask questions they shouldn't be asking especially when parents are of a religious background want good wholesome TV and want a religious up bringing for their kids. This commercial is very invasive in the realm of religion and politics and does not belong in the home.
Ermahgerd! Kids asking questions! Horrors!
DeleteLook, it's really simple: "Kids, sometimes men fall in love with men, and women fall in love with women. It doesn't happen as often, but it happens." Big whoop! Are you that bad of a parent, that you can't figure out how to do that?
This commercial has zero to do with religion, and zero to do with anything other than presenting reality as it is. I'm married to a man. My nephews and nieces know this. It's not complicated. Grow up, and learn to deal with reality, honestly.
The commercial aired during a show that features a gay family. What's the big deal? People aren't offended when its a show but god-forbid its a commercial??
ReplyDeleteI just saw it during a LOTR movie that is not a gay movie. The commerical needs to go
DeleteOh, suck it up. You can deal with fantasy but not reality?
DeleteNever will buy another Kindle product. This makes kids ask questions they shouldn't be asking especially when parents are of a religious background want good wholesome TV and want a religious up bringing for their kids. This commercial is very invasive in the realm of religion and politics and does not belong in the home.
ReplyDeleteAgain, there are REALLY gay couples who are REALLY married. If your kids can't confront reality, they're in all sorts of trouble, least of which dealing with their sexuality. Buck up, and be a good parent.
DeleteActually, you seem to have missed the point. There really *aren’t* any guys out there who are married to other guys; they’re garried to other guys. (Out of curiosity, did you also think that people were “getting their panties in a twist” when they boycotted Chick-fil-A for having the audacity to support marriage?)
ReplyDeleteJeff, I know you're just trying to be cute, but I'M married to another man. I have the license and the certificate (and the baggage) to prove it. I realize that you--and presumably your religion--don't classify mine as a "real" marriage, but that is immaterial. We have a legal, civil marriage, and that's all that is being fought for. Your church is free to continue to only bless those unions that it wishes to.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Chick-fil-A (geez, I really hate typing that oddly capitalized and punctuated name), yes, I thought that was a profoundly rude thumb in the eye to gay people. It was an oddly specific protest (and a lazy, easy-to-participate-in one), that proved anti-marriage equality folk are more motivated than pro-marriage equality supporters, at least on that day. An almost-as-lazy show of support on Facebook a couple of weeks ago showed the flip-side, with millions of commenters changing their avatars to a pink equals sign.
The difference between the two? The Chick-fil-A protest showed a mean-spirited group of people, sending a chilling message to gay people that we don't deserve equal rights. The Facebook anti-protest showed support, and solidarity for our equal rights. It was quite a contrast of motivations.