Advertisers Strategies to Target Gay Audiences in Attitude and Gay Times :: essays research papers fc

I have decided to spilt the following essay into 4 sections, the first three concern different adverts and the final one is a discussion of gay advertising in general. The first advert I shall be looking at is "Couvette Duvet Cover" from Gay Times, Issue March 2000, page 67. This is a written text, as far as the author is aware this text does not appear in any other medium. The text was found whilst looking for adverts specifically aimed at gay men. I decided to analyse this text as it appears to be unusual in that no people appear in the advert, usually in gay advertising as with other genres at least one person or maybe more are used. The advert that the author is undertaking analysis of is one among many copies that are distributed in magazines (specifically gay) and may well appear in poster form as well. This influences my interpretation as the advertisers aim to reach a wide audience, not only those who are reading the magazine. The advert is indexical in representation. The important signifiers in the text are the colours of the Duvet, they are the colours of ‘gay pride’, this is not usually known by people outside of the genre. Therefore the advertiser has placed in the corner the text "100% Gay", so that there can be no doubt as to whom the text is aimed at. The Duvet is also for a double bed, this is important as it implies a couple. As does the fact there are ‘littered’ around the small section of room we see a selection of items in pairs. Examples are, the two pairs of trousers, the two organisers, two tables and two ‘bent’ lamps on the table on the right hand side of the picture. An important point to consider is also the lack of a carpet, the implication here is the floor being easier to keep clean than a carpet, although there is a corner of a reed mat showing. The picture gives a impression of a room that is serene, peaceful, secure and relaxed, the person who inhabits the room is relaxed about being Gay (shown by the Duvet cover). The advertiser is trying to sell this image to the consumer. Although the signs are primarily directed at people who are gay and ‘on the scene’ it is possible that the signs will also make sense to other readers who are not connected to it (although perhaps not the significance of the colours).