LGBT car ad wins award
Commercial Closet Association announced the winners of the 4th Annual Images in Advertising Awards July 28 at a ceremony in New York—and the awardees included the winner for Outstanding U.S. TV Campaign for the LGBT Market: Cadillac and its 'Road to Success' campaign, according to a press release.
Travis Parman, General Motors' LGBT media relations manager, said, 'On behalf of General Motors, the team at Cadillac and our friends at Logo, thank you. This the first time that General Motors has produced LGBT-specific TV commercials and I guess this means we did a pretty good job. We're very proud that we were able to work with the incredible producers at Logo to tell these powerful stories in less than a couple of minutes.'
As part of a first-ever partnership, General Motors and Logo launched the campaign late last year on the channel. The ads feature the stories of gay and lesbian individuals and their path to personal and professional success.
Pink Banana releases LGBT car marketing report
In anticipation of the release of the Gay Market Report, Pink Banana Media has released one of its key marketing reports looking at the automotive industry's recent advertising and marketing trends in the LGBT community.
Authored by Joe LaMuraglia of GayWheels.com, this marketing report includes the most recent GayWheels.com Top 10 Most Researched vehicles list, which helps to shed light on what LGBT automotive consumers are researching online when making their car buying decisions. It also spotlights both the history of automotive advertising in the LGBT community and where this advertising is today.
The full report will discuss many aspect of the LGBT media marketplace, such as social networking, blogs and event marketing. For more, see www.pinkbananamedia.com .
Ala. Honda explains same-sex policy
Honda Manufacturing of Alabama ( HMA ) sent a letter to Gaywheels.com in response to an article the Web site had about the company's same-sex policies.
Gaywheels.com's initial article discussed Honda's policy regarding fertility treatments. 'Benefits for fertility treatment and ART are limited to a lifetime maximum payment of $30,000.00,' the article read. 'The [ preceding ] verbiage applies to heterosexual couples. The disturbing part of the policy reads: 'Effective January 1, 2008, Honda Manufacturing of Alabama requests that Blue Cross and Blue Shield exclude domestic partners ( same sex partners ) from ART benefits including diagnostic services related to fertility/infertility that have a fertility or infertility diagnosis.''
Honda subsequently sent a statement saying, in part, that HMA's 'plan includes domestic partner benefits for same-sex couples. Our current benefits program does not provide coverage for third-party involvement ( such as surrogate motherhood or the use of sperm or egg banks ) regardless of whether the covered couple is heterosexual or same-sex.' Therefore, no couples—regardless of the orientation involved—are covered regarding fertility treatments; however, LGBT employees have been covered under domestic-partner insurance since Jan. 1.
Gaywheels.com added that Honda is not on its list of gay-friendly companies because not all U.S. branches of the corporation offer these benefits.
See www.gaywheels.com .
Be a reviewer and win a $50 gas card
by Joe LaMuraglia, GAYWHEELS.COM
When I tell people what I do for a living one the first questions is usually 'Where do I sign up for that job?' Well, now is your chance to prove yourself as a writer and enter to win a $50 Gas card to boot!
Gaywheels is running a contest with vLane.com, an autos site that features reviews and car-buying advice from owners and drivers. The contest is simple—the best car review wins a $50 gas card. This contest is only for Gaywheels users, so take advantage!
All you need to do is review your car on vLane by visiting vlane.com/review_entry/contest:gw001/ . Make sure to register when prompted so that we can e-mail you if you are the winner, and you'll be automatically entered to win.
Only residents of the U.S. and Canada are eligible. People shopping for cars will use your reviews to guide their decisions, so make sure to include the things you'd want to know about the car if you were thinking about buying it. Aim for 100 words minimum, and be sure to rate the car as well. Enter your review by Aug. 31 to be eligible for the $50 gas card.
Reviews will be judged based on quality, but we'll also take into account the number of people that vote your review as being useful on vLane.
See www.gaywheels.com/so_you_think_you_can_write.htm.
