In one of the more recent Progressive Insurance ads, two guys approach Flo and the short guy with thick black-framed glasses and tightly cropped hair and a shirt with a rainbow band on it says he needs to start saving money, and he’s with a taller blonde guy. My gaydar is usually pretty decent, but I just wondered if I was imagining the subtext here. Assuming they are meant to be a gay couple, it strikes me that this is the first time I’ve seen a gay couple in a TV ad for anything that is not specifically targeted for gay people. Thoughts?
Well, one of them does have a rainbow stripe on his T shirt. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, of course.
eta: you spotted the rainbow :smack:
If one member of a couple is needing money, do they often sell stuff to their significant other? I think they’re just friends. But it could be an attempt to be progressive (ha) for those that make that conclusion and understated enough that someone who would be upset about such a reference wouldn’t pick up on it. Thus not alienating either the liberal or conservative markets.
There was a gay couple in a cell phone ad a few years ago. It was for some kind of friends and family plan, and there were about ten short clips of one family member realizing that all of their calls were to another family member. One of them was with two men. I can’t recall what cell phone company it was, though.
I haven’t seen the ad in question, is it on youtube?
Okay, thanks for the link Inner Stickler. Having seen the ad now, I would say that they are NOT a gay couple. If they were, blond guy probably would have helped his boyfriend out in a more financially generous way than buying his watch from dark haired guy. And then refusing to sell it back at the end? That’s kinda harsh. If they are boyfriends, dark haired guy should dump blond guy.
I don’t think they’re an item, but I do think they’re both totally gay. I never noticed the rainbow stripe on the shirt, though. Heh.
Yes it’s intensely gay. They are gay friends, SOs or FWBs. This isn’t even gaydar territory. The gayness is slapping you in the face like a big, meaty gay penis.
The ad does point to a distinction in male and female relationships. A man and woman whether friends, SO’s or FWBs could never have a realistic dialogue where the man bought the watch (or whatever) off the woman and refuses to give or sell it back. Men can have hard nosed rules about this even if they are lovers, in a male-female scenario the man (friend or otherwise) would always be compelled to give or sell the watch back or risk being labeled a complete shit.
Seemingly said with authority…
I disagree. I think the fact that the first guy even sold his watch to the other guy means they aren’t lovers. And if they are supposed to be, the other guy is indeed a shit for not selling the watch back.
I’m always kind of skeptical of “gaydar”, but having two young men of similar ages go out to buy car insurance together kind of indicates they’re a couple irregardless of rainbow shirts or effeminate mannerisms.
Funny…when I first saw the commercial, before the first guy got one word out of his mouth, I thought “Wow, gutsy of them to market to a gay couple like that”.
They are clearly gay.
Nothing is done in TV commercials by accident. Nothing. The rainbow is obvious enough for the gay community to see it and say “Great, someone is finally talking to us” but to Mr and Mrs middle America, it’s just a couple of nice boys.
Why would one half of a couple sell his watch to the other half? And why would that other half then refuse to sell it back? If this is supposed to be a representation of a couple, it’s a massive, overwhelming failure for that fact alone.
Maybe they’re meant to be read as gay, but I’m not getting that reading, and they’re sure as hell not a couple.
Gay.
I remember thinking of opening a thread about this the first time I saw the commercial, which was several weeks ago.
The other question… does Flo have the hots for the motorcycle guy?
This Middle American sees them as a wimp and a jerk.
If they’re in a relationship, it’s not gonna last.
I don’t see them as a gay couple. First of all is that a rainbow flag? It kind of looks like one, but it’s definately a faded out or toned down version of one.
Second of al if they were a gay couple WHY would one of the guys BUY the watch from the other. The whole point is the one guy was short money and sold his watch to the other guy.
Would a husband do that to a wife or vice versa?
The problem with running a gay ad would be the obvious. Does Progressive have rates for married people. If they offer discounted rates for married people and don’t give them for gay couples that would be problematic, if it were so and anyone found out.
It might be a way of putting your foot in the water for a gay ad.
I think the writers wanted an “out”, just in case. No one in the biz would put this together without realizing how gay those guys come across as. Not that there’s anything wrong with that! 
I still think it’s a case of people reading subtext in an ad that they want to be there.
Yeah, I assumed they were subtly going for a gay couple or friendship vibe. I don’t think the second guy is an asshat – I figured the “he sold me his watch / also I’m not gonna give it back” stuff was banter, not really serious – kinda giving each other a hard time (er, so to speak). Maybe the first guy is too proud to accept a loan, so the second guy said “fine, sell me your watch,” and so on. Not that I think we’re intended to concoct a whole fanwanking backstory for these two schlubs. 
Edited to add: and btw, I never noticed the rainbow pattern in the ad.