- Fa la la la la la la la la
- Slick ads depicting anything goes family life
This holiday season Tylenol (Johnson & Johnson) and the iconic Campbell’s Soup are two ubiquitous consumer brands companies (among others) who are heavily engaged in propagandizing more than their product lines by casually or otherwise helping to normalize same-sex marriage and parenthood. Each of the advertising spots appended herein show vignettes of same-sex parenthood as just another aspect of American family life. Commentary continues after the video samples.
Campbell’s Soup ad started October 5th and ties into Star Wars movie hype:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rZOMY2sOnE
Tylenol ad “how we family” – note gay marriage proposal half way through
Official Tylenol presentation ad from 2014 – “For What Matters Most” featuring the Beser-Carr-Schneider-Musich family . . . put that on the back of your gym shirts kids.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-i5xxSgPtA
Each spot has a selective inclusion if not a focus intended to present same-sex marriage and parenting as normative. They are not just incidental aspects as there are many larger identifiable sub-groups or demographic segments left out if the purpose was simply to increase market share. There is no new gay or lesbian market to open up as any quality, convenience and value attributes of the advertised products appeal across all demographics regardless of “marriage” or parenthood.
There are no product feature aspects attached to the spots. There are no special soups or acetaminophen desires unique to gays or lesbians or their biological, step or adopted children. The spots are of the nominally “good will” type except that the matter of cultural propaganda — the normalization of same sex parenting — is a feature. Whether they were commissioned specifically or approved after the submission by the ad agencies makes no difference.
If you buy the product you subsidize the cultural propaganda the company puts out.
As a consumer, as soon as I see an obvious and purposeful attempt at manipulation outside of the realm of cultural norms, that product is put on my avoid list. I make a conscious effort to buy competing brands. As is the case, Johnson & Johnson and Campbell’s soup are engaged in highly competitive sectors with easy substitution possible.
Questions
Stockholders might ask the CEO if the purpose of the company is increasing product sales and stockholders equity, (those are not evil concepts in these pages) then how such advertising helps the bottom line compared to advertising that does not predictably offend as much as it purports to please? Are same-sex couples and children in their charge missing from the existing customer base or not amenable to generic advertising or advertising based on quality and value? Even assuming that no adverse sales effect, i.e. “ill will” is possible by pushing such propaganda, (which is the predictable effect if conservative groups decide to make an issue of it) then what is gained by such outreach?
Government and sociological research indicates that about 2% of the population is gay or lesbian – so on one level that is the potential “same-sex” market. But given the across the board market penetration of Campbell’s and J&J products, they probably already have their share of gay and lesbian customers, so where is the identifiable gay and lesbian unfriendly or friendly competition they think they can draw from on this basis?
Are they after people who, whether or not they are gay or lesbian, will appreciate a company by increasing their purchase of its products because of the company’s advertised inclusiveness? Were they perceived as hostile before (we doubt it) or indifferent (the new aggression perhaps)? Why does either company want to set itself up to being susceptible to the shakedown narrative of an agitating group and to be exonerated only if it affirmatively promotes that group’s viewpoints to the general public? If so we can predict some causes knocking on the door for their share of the “prove your inclusive and not hostile or indifferent ” tributes.
Personally we see specification as to “gay family friendly” to be a very weak affinity to hang your advertising hat on when the competition is food or one of many alternative pain relievers and none of your competition is in any way hostile to your target market. In other words any bump won’t last.
Are they after some perceived segmentable market of gay or lesbian parents? How big could it be to risk any sales deterioration by offended customers who for strongly held religious, cultural and child welfare reasons do not believe in same-sex marriage or same sex adoption and find its promotion offensive to their values?
How big is that enticing market of same-sex parents anyway? Interpreting a report of a gay-rights foundation which says about 25% of same sex couples are raising children — presuming them to be of child rearing age which is substantially less than the base of two percent of the general “gay”population — we see an implication of maybe one or two tenths of a percent.
How we see it: The ads reek of ad agency types with a political agenda and corporate executives who want to use mostly other peoples money (other investors and customers) to promote that same agenda unsupported by any business sense.
Further reading and supplemental information:
As a result of the level of representation of homosexual behavior in mass media, inordinate to its actual existence in society, no wonder Gallup finds Americans Greatly Overestimate Percent Gay, Lesbian in U.S.
The American public estimates on average that 23% of Americans are gay or lesbian, little changed from Americans’ 25% estimate in 2011, and only slightly higher than separate 2002 estimates of the gay and lesbian population. These estimates are many times higher than the 3.8% of the adult population who identified themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender in Gallup Daily tracking in the first four months of this year.
This 2014 Washington Post report indicates approximately 2% identify gay or lesbian (less than 3% when bisexual percentage included).
Health survey gives government its first large-scale data on gay, bisexual population
Less than 3 percent of the U.S. population identify themselves as gay, lesbian or bisexual, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday in the first large-scale government survey measuring Americans’ sexual orientation.
Important report from Family Research Center regarding children raised by homosexual parents:
New Study On Homosexual Parents Tops All Previous Research
The myths that children of homosexual parents are “no different” from other children and suffer “no harm” from being raised by homosexual parents have been shattered forever.
Sample of the many consumer products marketed by Campbell’s Soup Company and Johnson & Johnson
Cambells Pepperidge Farm Bolthouse Farms V8 Swanson Prego Pace Spaghettios Goldfish Plum Organics
Neutrogena Band-Aid Bengay Listerine Milanta Tylenol Visine Acuvue
