“Take your gay best friend to visit Hong Kong,” reads a print ad released by travel agency SpringTour less than a year ago. Over the last few months, a noticeable amount (although still far-and-few between) of Chinese advertisements have been marketed towards the LGBT community. It may not seem out of place in the USA where gay marriage was just legalized, but it is a bit unusual in China.
In reaction to the recent legislation ruling in the USA, some American brands released ads that show support for the changing dynamics of the American family. The newest Tylenol commercial titled, “How We Family” features all sorts of families: white, black, bi-racial and gay. The voice over in the ad states: “It’s not about who you love but how you love.”
“带你的同性恋人去香港吧”，这是一家叫做Spring Tour的旅行社去年发布的广告。在过去的几个月里，可以看到中国广告营销转向LGBT话题的案子明显增多（虽然相对来说还是寥寥无几）。不久前同性婚姻在美国的合法化，大大刺激了市场，中国自然也受到了鼓舞，红粉经济有猛增长的势头。
回应最近美国的同性婚姻新法案，一些美国品牌发布了支持美国家庭结构变化的广告。最近标题为“我们怎么成家”的Tylenol广告中，描述了不同类的家庭组合：白人，黑人，不同肤色，以及同性恋组合。该广告呼吁：“家，不是关于你爱谁，而是你怎么去爱”
#HowWeFamily was released right after gay marriage became legal across the entire U.S.
#我们怎么成家＃campaign在美国同性恋婚姻合法化后推出，十分应景。
The response to the new legislation was not limited to the United States. Many global companies and even some Chinese exclusive brands showed support for the ruling by producing ads featuring the “rainbow flag” Chinese companies such as Sense-U Clip and yongche.com also participated. Alibaba’s Taobao, similar to eBay, went even further than just raising the rainbow flag. Taobao helped Chinese couples get married in the US. They hosted a contest last Valentine’s Day and ten same-sex Chinese couples won a trip to California to get married. The trip was financed by a Chinese bedding company called Bliss which sells its products via Alibaba.
And, although the court ruling in the US has increased the publicity of these advertisements, LGBT advertising is not completely new to China. There is one Chinese ad in particular that generated a lot of discussion about the portrayal of the LGBT community. The ad was launched by IKEA in Taiwan about a year ago.
China might has a long way to go before legalizing gay, but local brands took advantage of the American hot topic as an instant event marketing.
中国同性婚姻合法化遥不可及，但本地品牌肯定不会放过如此热门的话题营销。
对美国新法案的回应不仅仅局限于美国地区。很多全球性的公司，甚至是中国本土企业也通过发布“彩虹旗”主题的广告，表示了对该法案的支持。例如，中国公司“Sense-U Clip”和“Yongche.com”，也参与了相关的活动。阿里巴巴集团旗下的淘宝所做的，远远超越了单纯支持彩虹旗，它资助中国七对同性恋人到美国结婚。这是去年情人节的延续——去年淘宝就开展了类似的社交竞赛活动，赢得比赛的十对同性恋人获得了到加利福尼亚旅行并结婚的机会。这次的活动是由一家在阿里巴巴平台上销售，叫做Bliss的床上用品公司赞助的。
A controversial spot from Taiwan Ikea last year.
去年宜家台湾的推出了一支相当有争议的、基情满满的电视广告。
It starts with a serious breakup between two men. As the men hug goodbye the video changes to show the man hugging a couch. The message of the ad? Break-up with your old furniture, IKEA has you covered. Some critics bashed IKEA saying that this ad insinuated that gay people quickly rotate partners.
In a less controversial commercial, available online only, the jewelry company Enzo released “Mr. Right.” The two-minute ad is for Enzo’s jewelry collection Commitment. While the ad is not targeted exclusively to the LGBT community it does invite them into a conversation about love and commitment.
The commercial features three couples dancing: a gay couple doing ballet, a lesbian couple dancing to the waltz and a heterosexual couple doing the tango. Each couple appears to be dancing the way lovers dance, lost in the rhythm of each other.
到目前为止，最引争议的同志广告莫过于台湾的宜家在大概一年前发布的一支名为“新的比较好”的广告。广告由两个男人的分手开始。镜头由两个男人的拥抱离别，转向一个男人拥抱沙发的场景。广告传达的是什么讯息？跟你的旧家具分手，宜家来帮你。一些评论家抨击广告观点片面——并不是所有男同志都是爱换伴侣的。
相比之下，珠宝公司Enzo名为“真命天子”的广告就含羞唯美得多了。这则广告并不是针对于LGBT社群，但却邀请她们参与到一场关于爱与承诺的对话中。
该广告描述了三对恋人跳舞的场景：一对男性同性恋人在跳芭蕾，一对女性同性恋人在跳华尔兹，一对异性恋人在跳探戈。每一对恋人都在爱的氛围中舞蹈，完全沉浸在与自己恋人独有的节奏中。
The beautiful dance spot – “Mr. Right.”by Enzo jewelry.
Enzo珠宝的广告“真命天子”优雅而另类。
Director Yocky Zhang pitched the creative idea for this commercial when Enzo asked for a commercial that appealed to, “any kind of love.” In a personal interview with SHP+, we asked him why he chose the dances he did. Zhang explained that the tango displays energy and power and the waltz has lots of movement and rhythm. Zhang said that rhythm is as essential to love as it is to dance.
导演Yocky Zhang是针对Enzo 广告主题——“任何一种爱”提出了这个创意。他告诉SHP+：他之选择这三种不同的舞蹈是因为探戈是力量与能量的展现，华尔兹则要求较大的运动幅度和强烈的节奏感；对舞蹈来说，节奏是最本质的内容；这一点，对于爱来说是一样。
Zhang had more to say about ballet: “Ballet is normal for boys,” he said. “It helps depict normality.” While it may still be taboo for men to date men it is not as unusual to see them dance together.
Up until 2001, homosexuality was considered a mental disorder according to the Chinese government. It is still considered a taboo subject (as most sex related topics are) and gay marriage is still unrecognized by the Chinese government as a legal commitment. Despite this, it does appear that LGBT targeting advertising is making its way east. However, it may still be a while before you can invite your Chinese gay best friend to Hong Kong.
Yocky更多的向我们描述了芭蕾。“对于男孩来讲，芭蕾是件正常的事情，它有助于正常表现自己”。当然，用双双起舞的一对男人来表达创意，在中国确实不是一件寻常的策划。
直到2001年，同性恋被中国政府被认为是一种精神障碍 。目前，它仍然作为一个禁忌话题（就如性的话题一样），同性婚姻也依然不能被中国政府在法律上承认。尽管如此，红粉势力正慢慢强大，并慢慢建立着中国广告的“基”地。
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