MORSE'S CODE

Seriously GLAAD

Gay programming, yes, but let it be tasteful. In an acknowledgement of this principle, Fox has decided to pull its planned reality show “Seriously, Dude, I’m Gay,” just two weeks before its scheduled debut.

The decision was announce just hours before Fox executives were going to meet with representatives from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) who had previously called an advance screening an “exercise in systematic humiliation.” The point of the show was to show two straight contestants trying to win $50000 by convincing family, friends and dates into thinking they are gay.

"This should serve as a model for other networks producing gay-themed programming," Joan Garry, Executive Director of GLAAD said. "Such programming should be done well -- or it shouldn't be done at all."
"Seriously, Dude, I'm Gay" first came to GLAAD's attention on May 13 when Fox published a press release for the show stating, "It's a heterosexual male's worst nightmare: turning gay overnight." The release went on to say that, "For one week a pair of straight guys will immerse themselves in "the gay lifestyle," and announced that the contestants' success would be judged by "a jury of their queers." After GLAAD criticized the language of the release, Fox quickly apologized and released a revised version.

Patience, folks. Decency will ultimately prevail.

I Love My MTV!

Finally!! MTV Networks announced today that it will be launching the first cable television channel specifically for gay and lesbian viewers. Set for a February 17th launch, the channel will be called “Logo.”

The channel, in the works for more than two years, is designed to reach a segment of the population that is desirable to many advertisers because of its more than $400 billion worth of buying power, MTV executives said in a telephone news conference. The executives said programming for Logo would initially be 25 percent original with the rest acquisitions of movies and reruns of series.

MTV has shifted its original plan, announced in January 2002, which had been to make the channel a joint venture with the pay channel Showtime — like MTV Network.owned by Viacom Inc. — and to charge viewers a monthly subscription fee. Now the channel will be part of the basic cable lineup, though located on the digital tier of channels. That will mean relatively limited distribution.

"We're looking to be at 10 to 14 million homes by the end of the first year," said Nicole Browning, the president of affiliate sales for MTV Networks. The channel will charge cable systems an undisclosed fee for each subscriber, she said. She noted that as much as one third of the channel's target audience is concentrated in the country's biggest cities. Logo has thus far received orders from cable systems serving New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston and Philadelphia.

The launch is a response to the recent explosion of interest in the GLBT market, something we’ve been experiencing first hand at NAD. Is America finally ready for this? I think so, though MTV will be facing some opposition from the original oxymoron, the Christian Right.

Asked if he expected the channel to draw protest from religious groups, Mr. Freston said, "We know some people are uncomfortable with the concept of a gay and lesbian community, period." But he cited polls that he said indicated increasing levels of tolerance and acceptability for gay people. "We don't expect any huge backlash," Mr. Freston said.

But already today, conservative groups expressed outrage and promised action to try to shut the channel down. The Rev. Louis Sheldon, the head of the Traditional Families Coalition, called the idea "bad news for American families" that will lead to moral anarchy. Mr. Sheldon said he called other heads of religious groups and they have agreed to mount a massive campaign to boycott all advertisers who sponsor the channel. "Madison Avenue has gone amok," Mr. Sheldon said. "They don't realize they've awakened the sleeping giant."

Detailed programming has yet to be determined, but among some titles on the initial list: “Gods and Monsters,” The Birdcage,” and my favorite, “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?” Here’s to you, Blanche!

Ad-Versity

You just can’t get away with anything these days. Coors and their Hispanic advertising agency Bromley Communications have launched a clever new advertising campaign using the Spanish word “Guey.” The ad was done in both Spanish and English and is kind of a Mexican take on Budweiser’s “Whassup” commercials– for the benefit of Anglo viewers, the ad explains that “Guey” equates with “Dude.” According to this article in Advertising Age, the ad has provoked a lot of people to have quite a cow.

"Guey does mean castrated bull," conceded Catarino Lopez, creative director at Bromley Communications in San Antonio. For the linguistic purist, "guey" is derived from "buey," the Spanish word for ox, and can be an insult, implying stupidity. But for many young Hispanic males, "guey" has crossed over into everyday speech between men. In the Coors Light spot, the word is delivered with different inflections and intonations that convey greetings, offers of beer and appreciation of attractive women. "We have received some calls concerned about the negative meaning of 'guey,' " said a Coors spokeswoman.

The spot was created just for Spanish-language TV. But Coors executives thought it was a bigger idea that transcended language.

Paul Mendieta, Coors' director of multicultural marketing, said Coors tested the concept and a rough cut of the spot among 21- to 24-year-old Mexican-American males, as well as non-Mexican Hispanic males and non-Hispanics. The reaction of Mexican-Americans was, "You got me, this is me and my friends," he said. Other Hispanics and even non-Hispanics still got it, he said.

Believe you me, I have had countless conversations with Mexican men that have been laced with the word “Guey.” And though it’s always good for a laugh when this Gringo tries to casually slip the word into my own speech, it is about as common as, well, “Dude” is in the American vernacular. I hate to editorialize but this criticism is bunk. This is cross-over advertising done perfectly. If you’re Mexican, it’s hilarious. If you don’t speak a word of Spanish, you’re still in on the joke. Click here to see the ad for yourself.

But Coors is not the only company getting heat. Labatt Tecate just launched its new long-necked product with the tag line "Finally, A Cold Latina,” and some folks are getting red hot. Including the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. They sent a letter to Labatt on Friday asking them to pull the ad.

It's funny and it does make me laugh," said Wilma Espinoza, who heads the Bay Area Chapter of MANA, founded in 1974 as the Mexican-American Women's National Organization. "But the underlying message could be damaging. There's a whole myth about Latinas as 'hot chicks.'"

What is playing out in that ad is a gender stereotype," said Hispanic Federation vice president Lillian Rodríguez-López. "We have an attractive community, represented by both men and women. That does not mean you want sexism played out as the main tagline for selling a product. It sets us back as women and as Hispanic women," she added.

Victor Melendez, director of marketing for Mexican brands at Labatt said he's surprised at a negative interpretation. To suggest Latinas are "hot," said Melendez, is to recognize that they are "very vibrant and alive … not boring. That is a positive thing."

Labatt spokesperson Chris Perez said the company was analyzing comments on the ads left at its Web site and would decide next week whether to pull the ads. Recently, the company pulled ads in Albuquerque, N.M., after a youth group there complained.

Ironically, the campaign was conceived by Lapiz, a Chicago-based Hispanic advertising agency whose Founder and President is Dolores Kunda, herself a Latina.

Problem, Solution

A quick perusal of today’s news yielded a couple interesting items. A recent study shows that heavy kids are healthy kids in the minds of Hispanic moms. Not good news, but an assessment that my mother, a non-Hispanic Jewish mom, would probably agree with. But the second piece of news was that someone, Kraft and our Government, is actually doing something about it.

First the problem. The study was published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association and showed that 12 percent of Hispanic children between the ages of 2 and 5 are overweight -- a figure higher than that among black, white or Asian children the same age. Here’s what they found.

Women in the study generally felt that being moderately overweight in early childhood is all right as long as the child "looks and feels good." In fact, when shown pictures of thin and heavy children, mothers often said a heavier child looked healthier because her hair was "shining" and her face looked happy. In contrast, thinness was often viewed as a worrisome sign -- especially among immigrant Latina women, who considered malnutrition and intestinal infections a greater threat to child health than excess pounds.

Overall, the researchers report, mothers in the study were "reluctant to label their children as overweight," and even when they acknowledged that a child was heavy, they often believed he or she would "grow out of it." In addition, many mothers thought their child's weight problem was a matter of heredity rather than diet and exercise. Mothers also highly valued a child's happiness, consistently ranking the importance of "being happy with family" above good health, according to Crawford and her colleagues.

The findings suggest that the traditional way of counseling mothers on child nutrition -- such as emphasizing the ill health effects of being overweight -- might not work for many Hispanic mothers, according to the study authors. Instead, they say, focusing on the health benefits of a good diet and exercise, which go beyond weight control, may be more effective. They suggest that nutrition counseling might help Latina mothers more if it connects health to happiness, and focuses on the positive effects of nutritious foods and exercise instead of the consequences of being overweight.

Now the solution. Or at least a start. –Kraft has teamed up with the U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona, himself a New York born Puerto Rican, and the National Latino Children’s Institute (NLCI) to announce Salsa, Sabor y Salud – a healthy lifestyles educational program designed to rectify what some Hispanic moms appear to be inadvertently promoting – obese kids.

Said the Surgeon General, “This is part of increasing Americans’ health literacy, which is critical in our Hispanic communities where overweight and obesity are contributing to the rise in health problems like heart disease and diabetes that are robbing Latinos of their health and even their lives. Salsa, Sabor y Salud is an excellent example of a creative, community-based approach designed to give families tools they can put to use immediately to lead healthier lives.”

Through the eight-week curriculum, which now is being made available to community organizations nationwide, families learn small steps to change their daily routines and eating habits that add up to major lifestyle improvements. Salsa, Sabor y Salud was piloted in Los Angeles, San Antonio, Chicago, New York, Newark and Miami.

Setting the Record Straight

The automotive research experts R.L. Polk have set the record straight, having just released their market share numbers for the U.S. Hispanic market. The winners: Ford, Toyota and Chevrolet. Here are the numbers for 2003, based on total registrations:

I’d like to take this opportunity to set the record straight on something myself. Namely, the myth that the Chevy Nova bombed in Latin America because “no va” in Spanish means doesn’t go. It’s absurd, yet I hear it repeated at every other Hispanic marketing conference that I attend. Here’s the scoop from a website devoted to debunking myths and legends of an urban and non-urban sort.

The original Chevrolet Nova (initially the Chevy II) hit the U.S. market in 1962. (This car should not be confused with the smaller, front wheel drive vehicle which was produced in 1985 as a joint venture between General Motors and Toyota and also assigned the Nova name.) Between 1972 and 1978 the Chevrolet Nova was also sold in Mexico and several other Spanish-speaking countries, primarily Venezuela. Shortly afterwards the great "Nova" legend arose, a legend which a little linguistic analysis shows it to be improbable:

1. First of all, the phrase "no va" (literally "doesn't go") and the word "nova" are distinct entities with different pronunciations in Spanish: the former is two words and is pronounced with the accent on the second word; the latter is one word with the accent on the first syllable. Assuming that Spanish speakers would naturally see the word "nova" as equivalent to the phrase "no va" and think "Hey, this car doesn't go!" is akin to assuming that English speakers woud spurn a dinette set sold under the name Notable because nobody wants a dinette set that doesn't include a table.
2. Although "no va" can be literally translated as "no go," it would be a curious locution for a speaker of Spanish to use in reference to a car. Just as an English speaker would describe a broken-down car by saying that it "doesn't run" rather than it "doesn't go," so a Spanish speaker would refer to a malfunctioning automobile by saying "no marcha" or "no funciona" or "no camina" rather than "no va."
3. Pemex (the Mexican government-owned oil monopoly) sold (and still sells) gasoline in Mexico under the name "Nova." If Mexicans were going to associate anything with the Chevrolet Nova based on its name, it would probably be this gasoline. In any case, if Mexicans had no compunctions about filling the tanks of their cars with a type of gasoline whose name advertised that it "didn't go," why would they reject a similarly-named automobile?
4. This legend assumes that a handful of General Motors executives launched a car into a foreign market and remained in blissful ignorance about a possible adverse translation of its name. Even if nobody in Detroit knew enough rudimentary Spanish to notice the coincidence, the Nova could not have brought to market in Mexico and/or South America without the involvement of numerous Spanish speakers engaged to translate user manuals, prepare advertising and promotional materials, communicate with the network of Chevrolet dealers in the target countries, etc. In fact, GM was aware of the translation and opted to retain the model name "Nova" in Spanish-speaking markets anyway, because they (correctly) felt the matter to be unimportant.

   The truth is that the Chevrolet Nova's name didn't significantly affect its sales: it sold well in both its primary Spanish-language markets, Mexico and Venezuela.

Food for thought the next time you hear someone bring this horror story up.

Coming Out (With The Facts on GLBT)

Yesterday I mentioned Package Facts’ landmark report on the GLBT (gay men and lesbian) market. I say landmark as there is not a whole lot of information out there on this market. The U.S. Census doesn’t ask about sexual orientation, though it has included the “ Unmarried Partner” box since 1990, which if checked, and either two men or women live in the same residence, can be used as a measure of a gay or lesbian household.

Why doesn’t the Census directly track this hot “new” market? Because gays are not a protected minority, so there are no government laws to enforce or programs to administrate, something that civil rights groups like the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) are fighting to change. If there were gay anti-bias legislation, the case for including a count of gay men and lesbians in the U.S. census becomes much stronger.

So it’s news when new information comes out, and it has. "The Gay and Lesbian Atlas," written by Gary Gates and Jason Ost, and published by The Urban Institute, the new report mines U.S. census data and, according to the press release “confirms and challenges perceived wisdom concerning the distribution and urban density of gay populations."

Provincetown, Mass., and Guerneville, Calif., top the list of towns with the highest concentration of same-sex couples, predictably, but so do Wilton Manors, Fla. (No. 3), and the Atlanta suburb North Druid Hills (No. 10). Lesbian couples favor Santa Rosa, Calif., Burlington, Vt. (No. 6) and Corvallis, Ore. (No. 9). The top five states with the most same-sex couples over 55 are, in order, Vermont, Florida, New Mexico, North Dakota and Maine. McAllen, Texas, eight miles north of the Mexican border, has the highest concentration of Hispanic same-sex couples.

By the way, if you’re thinking about marketing to GLBT folks, The Commercial Closet Association is a must view website. Its stated mission is to work to “lessen social discrimination of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community by encouraging corporations and ad agencies to improve GLBT portrayals in the powerful, persuasive medium of mainstream advertising. They have an extensive archive of gay themed advertising – from well done to offensive – with lots of good commentaries to keep well meaning advertisers from making any costly mistakes. They’ve even included some best practices, found here complete with links to examples. I’ve take the liberty of listing them.

1. Be inclusive and diverse. Whenever people are shown, include GLBT individuals/family members/friends/couples, reflecting varied ages, races, genders, etc.
2. Avoid positioning homosexuality/transgender as a perceived threat for humor.
3. Be sensitive to gay, lesbian and transgender stereotypes. Advertising often stereotypes, but beware of complications. Feminine gay men and deceitful/scary transgender people are clichés that alienate many, and "lipstick lesbians" alone are limiting. Seek balance and unexpected twists by countering stereotypes and time-worn approaches.
4. Do good research. When conducting general research or forming new mainstream campaigns, GLBT perspectives should be considered and included as often as possible.
5. Go national. Consumers outside of major coastal cities are often improperly considered lacking sophistication to handle GLBT themes.
6. Be consistent and confident. Modifying or withdrawing ads suggests waffling and creates further trouble.

Two Men and a Baby

Let’s play Jeopardy. The category is “Media.” The $500 answer is “Two Men and a Baby.” You respond: “What’s the sequel to the 1987 movie with Tom Selleck, Ted Danson, and Steve Guttenberg?” Alex tells you you’re wrong. The correct response: “What will you find in the world’s first Ogilvy Award winning campaign targeting gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) consumers?”

In Volvo’s “Starting a Family” print ad, you’ll find six gay and lesbian families against images of the Volvo XC90 SUV and C70 convertible. The headline reads “Whether You’re Starting a Family or Creating One as You Go.” The ad goes on to say that when you buy or lease a Volvo, the company will donate $500 to the Human Rights Campaign, an organization smack dab on the radar screen for GLBT consumers.

The Ogilvy Award, presented by the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF), was for Volvo’s innovative use of research in developing an ad campaign.

“We wanted to better understand how to leverage the buying power of this very brand loyal market. We did so by further analyzing this market, via one of the most comprehensive studies of GLBT consumers,” stated Vic Doolan, President and CEO of Volvo Cars of North America. “As a result, we crafted a compelling story effectively communicating the core values of the Volvo brand while speaking credibly and intelligently to this unique consumer segment. The ‘Starting a Family’ campaign speaks directly to GLBT consumers about Volvo’s diverse family of vehicles, with a goal to increase consideration and appreciation.”

A report published by Packaged Facts in 2002 estimated that there were over 14 million gay men and lesbians in the United States with purchasing power in excess of $451 billion.

Congratulations to Volvo!

The Attitudinal Divide

A recent online poll conducted by Harris Interactive shows a sharp split between how African American, Hispanic and White adults view the state of public education and the prospects for minorities for getting a fair shot at success in America.

Here’s a sample of the findings.

“How much do you agree or disagree that African American or Hispanic students are just as likely as white students to get a good education in the U.S.?”

“How familiar are you with the Brown vs. Board of Education decision by the Supreme Court?”

“One of the goals of Brown vs. Board of Education was to ensure academic opportunities for students of all races. With which of the following two statements do you agree more?”

When looking at the results keep in mind that it’s an online survey, so those without Internet access were left behind. Also, they don’t mention if Hispanics were offered the option to be interviewed in Spanish, so I assume that those that don’t speak English were also excluded.

Livin’ in the City

Gentrification. The American Heritage dictionary defines it as “the restoration and upgrading of deteriorated urban property by middle-class or affluent people, often resulting in displacement of lower-income people.” Many think of middle class white folks moving into black areas. But in many cases, it’s middle class black folks that are doing the gentrifying. Read this article from the Christian Science Monitor, a newspaper with whom I’m rekindling a love affair from my college days.

(There is) a growing number of affluent and middle-class African-Americans moving back into traditionally black inner-city areas across America. It's a dramatic reversal from the days when when many African- Americans believed a home in the suburbs was a measure of "making it."

City neighborhoods from Atlanta to Chicago are in the throes of renewal - with all the vibrancy, anxiety, and transformation that entails. New York's Harlem is, perhaps, the most famous current example, but neighborhoods from Pittsburgh to Washington are metamorphosing, too.

"For many of these African-Americans moving back in, there is a sense that they are recapturing a history," says Roderick Harrison, data-bank director for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a Washington think tank that provides research to black elected officials. "They say, 'It's not just another house. It's making a meaningful statement about our lives and our community.' "

Sociologist Monique Taylor recently wrote a book recently called “Harlem between Heaven and Hell.”

She found that longtime residents soon realized yuppies are yuppies, whatever their race. The conflicts grew, she says, as recent arrivals insisted on changes in the way public and communal space was used - angering longtime residents by, among other things, passing laws that prohibit loitering and public urination.

"Those African-Americans, who were coming into Harlem to 'be down' with the community, had to accept the idea that their interests were at odds with how the community worked," she says. "They had to really rethink: 'This is who I am and this is why I'm here.' "

She attributes the trend of African Americans moving into traditional black areas to the failure of the traditional integration model.

Clearly, the needs of middle-class blacks are not being met by ... the typical path of integration," Taylor says. "Many said they just weren't making the friendships and neighborhood connections in the suburbs and were tired of being scrutinized. When they arrived in Harlem, they didn't have to explain the way they dressed, or talked, or the cultural practices they followed."

One could include another much discussed trend in this same category – African Americans returning to the South.