Gay ads more harm than good?

The question boils down to: Is this what the ‘gay demographic’ wants to see? What exactly is the gay demographic anyway? Is it a single, high paid interior designer who lives in a posh San Francisco home? Maybe it’s a muscle bound man who wears leather on the side? Of course, if you believe a new set of Orbitz commercials then it’s neither. It’s a campy couple that wear stylish clothes and fawn over each other! In an obvious attempt to boost their gay customers, Orbitz has been showing a couple of commercial featuring–to put it mildly–campy gays. It’s not a sudden movement by any means. Orbitz has had gayspecific travel planners and ‘gay rewards’ programs for a while now. Why even Mitch Truwit, President & CEO for Chicago Orbitz had this to say. "Gay and lesbian travelers are an important, valued audience for travel and leisure companies," Truwit also noted that 10% of their customers are gay and lesbian. So that would mean, obviously, that their new commercials were aimed at gays in order to gain more gay customers. But if that’s the case...why are the commercials so...campy? In this commercial (one of Orbitz several ‘game show’ commercials) The host introduces the contestants as ‘a travel editor from Miami’ and a man who’s ‘got a new boyfriend!’. The travel editor grabs his chest femininely, in a mock ‘who, me?’ fashion. The other man has his ‘new boyfriend’ fawning over him like a love deprived orphan....well one with extreme sexual tendencies any way. If these campy stereotypes weren’t enough, then how’s this: The announcer then says that they are playing in order to book a trip for a San Francisco hotel with a mini bar and gym. So back to the question: Is this what gays want to see? Many would say ‘no’ some may even go as far as to call the commercials ‘offensive’. Others would shrug and laugh at it’s obvious satire. But is there more to these commercials and ads then playful stereotypes? Orbitz doesn’t have a ‘black’ rewards program. Or a ‘single working mother’ program. Nor does it show commercials solely for the purpose of wheeling in Hispanic or Asian peoples. Some people think that it’s discrimination not to offer it to Gays, but other believe the opposite. Gays say they want ‘equal rights, not special rights.’ so why are they getting special treatment as consumers? The answer would be, because they are an easy target audience. If you’re a young gay guy who needs to go to California for a weekend of sightseeing and relaxation–who are you going to choose? Gay friendly Orbitz, or some pricey company who seems indifferent to homosexuals? So are the commercials showing that? Are they showing that Orbitz is a cheap, easy, gay friendly resource for travel? Or are they simple showing that campy gays like to party, workout, and have sex? It’s all in the eyes of the viewer, but advertisers should take note that a majority of the people who will see their commercials won’t be their target audience, their ‘gay’ demographic.