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How an Ad Campaign Made Lesbians Fall in Love with Subaru

• alistproducer2 10y ago
  That's really interesting. I never knew about the Subaru-lesbian connection. I remember the "da-da-da" VW ad and has no idea about its gay friendly-ness. Great article. Thanks for posting.
  • homero 10y ago
    My lesbian neighbor has a Subaru and I didn't understand why
    • biot 10y ago
      Is she a teacher, doctor, outdoor enthusiast, or IT professional?
      • jsmthrowaway 10y ago
        I had no idea hackers were so into all wheel drive, at least at the time. The article's exploration of the main topic was of course fascinating (and full of perspective), but that little nugget of information was equally thought-provoking to me. Understanding and appreciating the engineering, maybe? I'm genuinely intrigued by that. Also, I'm a hacker four wheel drive owner outdoor enthusiast, so I'll be discovering a penchant for medicine and a couple other interesting things about myself soon enough, I suppose. Come to think of it I do have first aid in the Jeep...
        • csydas 10y ago
          This is merely anecdotal and definitely tangential, but I've noticed a strong trend between programmers and common outdoors activities (camping, kayaking, etc) during my time in tech. I've always assumed it was just a means of getting as far away from the work environment as physically possible. While they will of course have more technical hobbies, they also seem to like to fill their time with just about anything that's outside or at least doesn't involve them in front of a screen. When I was in WA, home brewing beer was also extremely popular.
        • kirrent 10y ago
          The proportion of technical degrees in members of every university mountaineering club I've ever been in/met has always been ridiculously high. The same seems to be also true for climbers/cavers/ski-mo people I've met outside of uni. I think you're right that there must be something in the mind set that encourages those sorts of pursuit. I've always put it down to a combination of preferring individual pursuits over team sports and a love of discovery. Heaps of these people love their Subarus so it might be less of the case that hackers love the car and more that hackers love getting outdoors and therefore love the car. I know I love mine.
          • bobsil1 10y ago
            Also pilots: highly technical people are confident they can handle it without dying.
          • sndean 10y ago
            > preferring individual pursuits over team sports I've noticed that too with running/cycling. Even as far back as high school, it always seemed like the kids stronger in science/math did cross country and track in higher proportions compared to other sports.
        • poloniculmov 10y ago
          >Come to think of it I do have first aid in the Jeep... Isn't it mandatory to have a first aid kit in your car?
          • kalleboo 10y ago
            A quick google only reveals this to be mandatory in Germany and Belgium
    • hallman76 10y ago
      Now you know that it fits their active, low-key lifestyle.
  • c3534l 10y ago
    My brother bought one and it made me realize that he could probably pass as a lesbian.
    • mlvljr 10y ago
      Into women, too, huh? :-)
  • jmspring 10y ago
    It's a complete stereotype, but for years I've gone to various folk music festivals (dating back to the mid/late 90s). Those festivals that had obvious lesbian audiences, lots of subarus around. That said, they have had a reputation for decent vehicles.
  • fezz 10y ago
    Around the late 90s we started to notice the steady growth of subarus at the REI in berkeley. At some point we called them lesbarus because it was obvious but I never realized that the campaign was running all the way back then.
  • soylentcola 10y ago
    I'm sort of curious about the motivation behind their current slogan which I only started hearing over the past year or so: "Love, it's what makes a Subaru a Subaru" I'd hear that slogan as a sponsorship message on public radio and more recently I think I heard it on a commercial TV ad and I'd reply "no, standard all wheel drive is what makes it a Subaru." Still, snark aside, it's struck me as a sort of hippie-dippy slogan for an international auto company and it's made me wonder what they are going for.
  • diydsp 10y ago
    > no idea about its gay friendly-ness Me neither. Maybe it's the power of suggestion, but I see subtle and unsubtle references all over that ad now that it's been pointed out to me. It's all artfully vague, but added up make a strong hint: One guy's shirt is half-open. The two men look at each other with their lips slightly tensed. Their small car runs opposite to the large train (reference to against mainstream). There's a slack toy that pops up when the passenger manipulates it with his hand.
• chillacy 10y ago
  > But the marketing team quickly discovered that none of the people threatening a boycott had ever bought a Subaru. Some of them had even misspelled “Subaru.” I feel like this is such an important lesson in business. It's better to be loved by few and hated by many than to try to please everyone... because everyone has different needs and wants, conventional wisdom says that your target market can't just be "everyone". Even toothbrushes have different price points, colors, and positioning.
  • colechristensen 10y ago
    If there aren't people who hate what you're doing, you probably aren't doing anything worthwhile.
    • endtime 10y ago
      Does anyone hate SpaceX?
      • williwu 10y ago
        Jeff Bezos?
      • withdavidli 10y ago
        other defense contractors
      • bobsil1 10y ago
        Martians
      • legulere 10y ago
        Environmentalists
        • AlgorithmicTime 10y ago
          Why?
      • 10y ago
• deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
• slmyers 10y ago
  > This famous Volkswagen ad, which was perceived as gay-friendly, is incredibly subtle. (video clip ~3/4 down page) This ad seems so subtle, that I have no idea what makes it gay-friendly? Is it because there are two men driving around? Can anyone point out what I'm missing?
  • GavinMcG 10y ago
    There are two men who don't look to be related to one another. They make a mutual decision about an item of furniture. They're comfortable being silent with each other. There are no outward signs of especial masculinity. "Heterosexuals who saw those two just assumed they were friends or roommates, whereas the gay community assumed they were boyfriends." - Robert Klara of Adweek, quoted here: http://www.npr.org/2014/06/29/326524942/advertisers-come-out-of-the-closet-openly-courting-gay-consumers http://www.npr.org/2014/06/29/326524942/advertisers-come-out...
  • imtringued 10y ago
    I can't help but get smug by the fact that I can't watch a Volkswagen ad in germany because it's blocked by GEMA on youtube.
• peteretep 10y ago
  On basic human dignity: > "Yeah that’s fine. We did that in Canada years ago"
  • Grue3 10y ago
    Except if you're Indigenous Canadian.
• azernik 10y ago
  > There’s a tendency to view companies’ involvement in causes as greedy ploys. This author feels that way, especially given the cynicism-inducing conclusions of previous Priceonomics investigations. Looking into the history of engagement rings led us to marketers who made up the tradition to sell more diamonds. Searching out the origins of the phrase “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day” revealed that it’s a 1944 ad campaign designed to sell more breakfast cereal. > In this case, it’s heartening that the origins of lesbians’ stereotypical affinity for Subarus is not a cynical marketing campaign, but a progressive one. In a sense, all Subaru did was notice a group of customers and create ads for them. But that was a big deal. Subaru's ad campaign acknowledged a group that often felt unwelcome and invisible. I don't think that the two views are contradictory. In a capitalist society, political power comes with integration into consumerism, marketing, and all the rest; and vice versa. Market power is a potent way to push a political agenda. Maybe a company believes in your cause more than its bottom line. Maybe a politician cares more about you than about winning their next election. If you're campaigning to change society, the difference isn't really material. It can change your tactics a bit, but allies are allies no matter their motivation.
  • ucaetano 10y ago
    > I don't think that the two views are contradictory. I agree, with freedom of choice and competition, the burden falls on the consumers to choose what they support. In other words, voters vote with their ballots. Consumers vote with their dollars, both are very important in a democratic society.
    • deleted 10y ago
      [deleted]
  • zmmz 10y ago
    I always assumed the breakfast phrase had its origin in Kafka's Metamorphosis: > The washing up from breakfast lay on the table; there was so much of it because, for Gregor's father, breakfast was the most important meal of the day and he would stretch it out for several hours as he sat reading a number of different newspapers. But then again, I guess it would have never become such a common phrase through Kafka alone. Funny would be if the above formulation only appeared in post 1944 translations.
• gadders 10y ago
  Subarus have their own niches in the UK as well - either the boy racers that drive the Impreza Type R's, or farmers that driver the Subaru Forester.
  • Loughla 10y ago
    The farmers are also a niche for Subaru in the US. In the very, very, very rural Midwest area I reside, there is a substantial, and surprising number of Subaru Outbacks and Foresters. It's not uncommon to drive past small-town diners here and see a parking lot full of equal parts Ford/Chevy trucks and Subaru cars. They're dependable, easy enough to work on, and all-wheel drive (fuck snow and ice). They are as 'American made' as you can get anymore. They're perfect for conservative US farmers.
• Steko 10y ago
  I'm a little surprised their five niche groups didn't include the tuner/racer enthusiast community, the mid 90's was right when Colin McCrae and Subaru were peaking on the World Rally scene.
  • clintonb 10y ago
    Pricing might play a part there. A base WRX starts at $26K. The STI goes up to $35K. The Honda Civic starts at $18K. If you're on a limited budget, your base vehicle needs to be cheap enough so that you still have funds left over for the upgrades.
  • kelukelugames 10y ago
    I knew a few guys in that group. Maybe it's not as big as the other 5?
    • rlonstein 10y ago
      My friends in autocross and doing track days buy used Mazda Miatas. I'm told that Mazda got the "feel" just right and the handling is excellent with a few upgrades and the cars are cheap[er] to buy and run. I haven't (yet) but I did wring a few rural miles out of a stock 1999 ragtop my wife's friend owned and it was a fun car.
    • Steko 10y ago
      While I'd guess the number of actual racers is tiny the number of posers seemed pretty big, I was in college at the time and knew a few guys who had Subarus.
• smoyer 10y ago
  Don't ask, don't tell was actually a step forward for the LGBT community, and it's really not surprising it took a Democrat to force it down the military's throat. The prior policy was that you could be asked if you were gay or lesbian by the command chain and dishonorably discharged for answering in the affirmative. An untruthful answer would get you time in the brig for lying, then you'd be dishonorably discharged.
• cylinder 10y ago
  This article constantly repeated itself. It became so frustrating that I gave up on reading it.
• ck2 10y ago
  I hate to admit this but the stereotype is true, I have known a whole lot of people that drive Subaru, lol. They do have some very fun to drive models though and the build quality is very decent.
• Aqueous 10y ago
  As an 18 - 34 year old man and recent Subaru owner, I can only reason that it's not just that lesbians are (intelligently) into Subarus, it's that everyone else is an idiot about what cars they buy. Subaru means AWD! Furthermore, the Subaru Impreza is the only compact sedan on the market in its price range that comes with AWD standard - the only car you can buy where you receive a nice, small, fuel-efficient, new vehicle with AWD for the price of a compact - 18000 to 28000. AWD is a huge value-add, not just for outdoorsy types but for anyone who lives in a region with unpredictable weather, like New England or the Pacific Northwest. It's no wonder Subarus depreciate slower than other vehicles. Anyway, count me among the satisfied non-LGBT owners of a Subaru. End commercial.
  • pc86 10y ago
    I've lived in the upper mid-Atlantic/almost-but-not-quite-New England area my entire life. I've driven just about every combination of AWD, FWD and RWD with summer, all-purpose and winter tires. Obviously AWD with new snow tires will let you cut through just about anything. I mean it felt like driving a tank sometimes, it's amazing. And that was a sedan - I can't imagine how easy that much be in an SUV or Jeep. I've also driven FWD compacts with snow tires and experience was worlds better than AWD with regular tires. If AWD + snow tires is 100/100, FWD + snow tires is 90 and AWD + regular tires is 50. My point is that AWD isn't all it's cracked up to be, even with feet of snow on the ground. And just because it's standard doesn't mean you're not paying a couple thousand dollars for it like everyone else - it just means you don't have the option not to. And OT: I never understood this "smart people like $CONSUMER_PRODUCT" mentality. Different products fit different use cases. I wouldn't drive a BMW Z4 in Augusta, Maine just like I wouldn't drive a Subaru Forester in San Diego.
    • vlehto 10y ago
      >I can't imagine how easy that much be in an SUV or Jeep. Possibly not at all easier. SUV usually has bit more clearance than sedan. And possibly more suspension travel and overall weight. End of the day SUV vs. AWD sedan difference is almost insignificant. Real off-road cars also have differential locks and reduction gears. While they usually don't weight that much (relatively). Now you have real advantage, as you can approach any tricky spot with incredible amount of quaranteed torque and slow speed. What I'm sayin is that if you drive on a swamp off-road car is 100/100, SUV is 60 and AWD sedan is like 50.