Gay Philadelphia Tourist Commerical

[Jasun]

Philadelphia debuts first commercial aimed at gay travelers
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A man in colonial dress waiting by Independence Hall rebuffs an interested female's pass and instead gives his bouquet of flowers to his male lover in the nation's first gay-targeted commercial by a destination.
The 30-second spot, which airs for the first time Tuesday in Philadelphia and will be seen around the country, ends with the tag line: "Come to Philadelphia. Get your history straight and your nightlife gay."

"This is an invitation, that you (gays) are welcome here, because of what Philadelphia is and what Philadelphia has to offer, and because we have a strong gay community," said Meryl Levitz, president and chief executive of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, which is sponsoring the ad campaign.

"And we're not saying it's a gay destination; it's a gay-friendly destination."

The man in the commercial is seen writing a letter by candlelight to his "dearest beloved" and asks to meet at Independence Hall. After an interested woman passes by without even a nod, the man's male partner appears.

As the scene plays out, a narrator says: "Philadelphia and its countryside has a long history of making everyone feel welcome and free." The word Philadelphia is shown in a rainbow of colors.

The commercial will play on channels such as Bravo, MTV, VH1 and Style in Comcast Corp. cable markets nationwide.

The commercial is the first by a destination — such as a city or resort — to target a gay audience, said Mike Wilke, executive director of the Commercial Closet Association, a nonprofit group that tracks gay representation in ads.

It is also only the fourth gay-targeted commercial, he said. The first two were for cruise lines in the late 1990s; the third was last year by the travel Web site Orbitz, Wilke said.

"It's still unexpected on television to see a general advertiser reach out to a niche group like the gay community, so I think it will stand out," Wilke said. "What's nice is they're not trying to sell themselves like other destinations have (in print ads) by simply saying 'We're gay-friendly.' It's playing up one of its natural advantages, which is the history of the city."

Levitz said the commercial cost about $75,000 to produce, about half as much as it would normally cost. Actors donated their time and the advertising agency that produced the spot donated most of its services, she said.

The commercial is one of three the tourism agency is debuting Wednesday: one commercial is aimed at blacks, and one is for a general audience.

The tourism agency has targeted, black, Hispanic, and female travelers in past campaigns. It began a campaign to attract gay travelers in November.


http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/...illy-gay_x.htm


And here's the commercial:

http://www.commercialcloset.org/cgi-...ml?record=1671

[Chipmunk]

This is the campaign ad... from the AP

warm regards,
--=Chipmunk=--

[basschick]

that's very kewl... IF philly is actually a gay friendly place. is it? i had heard otherwise...

[Jasun]

I say forget Philly and come visit us here in Toronto... our Pride Day rocks, our city is so gay friendly, it's a bit overwhelming for many gay American tourists, and we've got lots and lots of hot Canadian Men to keep you warm at night.

Although the guy is pretty hot in that colonial outfit... um.. does anybody here have one of those i can borrow?

[Lee]

You know im wondering if this is going to backfire on Philly somehow?

Perhaps its just me looking into something further than i should but apart from the financial implication sof this there must be some other agenda.

Regards,

Lee

[Jasun]

See, I was talking with one of my friend's girlfriends about it last night, and she didn't understand why the gay community needs to be targeted... she was one of those people who doesn't understand why "you guys have to have gay bars and gay restaurants and gay grocery stores... why can't you just be like everybody else?"

(I'm hoping he's gonna dump her sub-urban ass real soon.)

I explained that gay men, statistically, take many more vacations than straight people, they tend to visit whole cities instead of cottages, family theme parks or cruises, they spend more money, they tell their friends and are very loyal. (i.e. they return again and again). It makes sense to go after gay tourists, and I'm surprised it hasn't been done on this scale before. Gay men will only go to a place if they feel they're welcomed and won't get harrassed... getting called names isn't conducive to a good vacation.

I'm not sure, however, wether this commercial will help much. The characters are dressed like somthing out of a Hartlequin Romance novel aimed at straight bored soccer moms(if some guy called me his "Dearest beloved", I'd probably get the hell out of there pretty quick), and although it's an open invitation to the gay community, it doesn't really show what the gay night life if like, which is more than half of the reason gay men will visit a place. Buffallo is a very liberal gay friendly city, but the gay night life sucks... therefore, not a lot of gay tourists.

Time will tell, of course, and I'm now a lot more likely to visit Philly than I was before. Again, I'd love to get my hands on a guy in that outfit. Maybe with a musket or something... I lived in New Mexico as a kid.. maybe we can play Cowboy and Colonial soldier...um... er.... I'll be back in a minute.

[Jason]

dude...that guy is smokin hot

...k....focus on the work....focus on the work.....

[Gary-Alan]

Originally posted by Jasun
I'm not sure, however, wether this commercial will help much. The characters are dressed like somthing out of a Hartlequin Romance novel aimed at straight bored soccer moms(if some guy called me his "Dearest beloved", I'd probably get the hell out of there pretty quick), and although it's an open invitation to the gay community, it doesn't really show what the gay night life if like, which is more than half of the reason gay men will visit a place. Buffallo is a very liberal gay friendly city, but the gay night life sucks... therefore, not a lot of gay tourists.

Jasun, the points you make here are great, but I think it's those exact reasons why it will work. It's playing on normalcy. Come to historic Phlidelphia and see the guys in Colonial dress and take the tours. Once you get the regular tourist Philie out of the way check the rest out. That's how I see it.

Phillie has a decent night life. It's not like NY or Toronto, as far as I'm concerned - but it's not bad. But to be honest, it's not the reason I go back to a place. For me, it's how much I like the city, how much there is to see and the like.

I love Toronto, but I wouldn't need to do Younge / the village to go back. It's something to see and do, but not a reason for a return trip for me. Actually the last time I was there, we were accosted by a car load of guys ready to bash. But that's a story for another day.

I still love the place! LOL

I just hope the ad does what it set's out to do - break some marketing norms AND prove that we're a target market that is worth the trip

My best,
GA