Driving sales: car companies find success advertising to gay consumers and supporting groups that work for equality.

A decade ago, Subaru--the car company that has reached icon status among gays and (especially) lesbians--had no intention of specifically targeting gay consumers through its advertising or promotions. But when the company dewed into a massive project to find out just who was buying their cars, they discovered a surprising demographic: a high-density pocket, mostly female, from the lesbian mecca of Northampton, Mass.

"Lesbians were fiercely loyal customers of Subaru, and their word of mouth was like gold," says John Nash, whose New York based Moon City Productions oversees GLBT marketing and advertising for Subaru. The car company began to aggressively court gay and lesbian consumers, with notable advertisements with such slogans as "It's not a choice. It's the way we're built."

During the past few years, other car companies, including General Motors and Volvo, have realized the value of the gay market. Yet they are also realizing that gay and lesbian car buyers are more likely to support companies that support them.

General Motors, for example, recently held a press event targeting only gay media outlets. Ford Motor Co. offers its customers a way to donate to gay organizations. Subaru sponsors community events like the AIDS/LifeCycle charity bicycle ride in California.

The automotive industry is much less skittish these days when it comes to targeting gay and lesbian consumers. "Most companies don't want to be a pioneer, but at this point they don't have to be. There is safety in numbers for these companies," says Michael Wilke, who tracks gay images in advertising and marketing with his online clearinghouse, The Commercial Closet.

Automakers are also targeting gay and lesbian consumers through ads that mean one thing to gays and another to straights. The most noted example was the "Da Da Da" television ad from Volkswagen that showed two 20-something men driving around in their Golf. The ad debuted during the coming-out episode of Ellen DeGeneres's Ellen sitcom.

Subaru's print ad showed three different cars with three different license plates--P-TOWNIE, CAMP OUT, AND XENA LVR--with the tagline "Different drivers. Different roads. One car." That also extends to Subaru's high-profile use of out lesbian tennis star Martina Navratilova as a spokeswoman. "Subaru picked her because site was viewed ms an athletic woman," says Nash, who is openly gay. "That she is a lesbian was a back-story to them. But they also knew that as a lesbian, she would appeal to a certain segment of the market."

General Motors (part owner of Subaru) this fall held its Out on the Road event, the first-ever automotive program specifically designed for the gay press. GM invited gay media reps to San Francisco to showcase its cars and show that "GM is formally acknowledging the value and power of gay consumers," according to the event's invitation. GM scheduled appearances by Queer Eye food guy Ted Allen and actor Antonio Sabato Jr. as well as a display of classic GM cars.

GM also sponsors such gatherings as the annual conference of Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays and Phoenix's Out and Equal, says Adam Bernard, a manager in product planning at GM. "We have to go beyond advertising," says Bernard, who is openly gay. "We have to be involved in the community itself. It's about our products, but it's also about our culture. It's about letting people know that GM is more than just a big, faceless company; it's about giving back to the community."

Ford has taken a similar approach. The automaker's Volvo brand is now a "platinum sponsor" of gay tights group Human Rights Campaign. Two other Ford brands--Jaguar and Land Rover--are sponsors of the media watchdog organization Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. Ford not only sponsors HRC and GLAAD events, but also allows buyers to fill out a coupon that instructs Ford to donate up to $1,000 to the organizations.

HRC's recently released Corporate Equality Index gave the company a 100% rating, making it the only automaker and the largest corporation to get a perfect score. "This rating acknowledges Ford's deep commitment to building and nurturing an inclusive and respectful culture in which all employees feel encouraged and able to contribute to their fullest potential," says Jim Padilla, Ford's chief operating officer and chairman of automotive operations. "Not only is this the right thing to do, it is essential to the future of our business."

Ford was honored at GLAAD's Fairness Awards Luncheon last year.

Last month Volkswagen commissioned professional photographer John Arsenault to take portraits in the gay-friendly havens of Provincetown, Mass., Los Angeles, and Palm Springs, Calif. An online gallery of the prints is available on the company's Web site, original prints are available for purchase, and Volkswagen will match all proceeds, which will benefit the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown and the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center. The photographs will also be featured in an advertising campaign in nation al gay and lesbian magazines.

John Gasloli, Volkswagen's multicultural marketing director, says Volkswagen wanted a way to give back to a community that has long supported the company. "For many years, we have recognized the gay community as a loyal, trusted, and treasured part of the Volkswagen family," says the openly gay Gasioli.

Volkswagen also takes part in gay pride events hi New York, Boston, and Los Angeles; Chicago's North Halted Market Days street fair and festival; and Provincetown's Labor Day weekend festivities. "Our brand is about freedom and self-expression, and it's a little quirky too," adds Gasloli. "And the gay community has responded to that."

John Butler of Witeck-Combs Communications, a public relations and marketing firm, says that a corporation's image may be one thing, but a company has to back that up with gay-friendly policies in order to attract and keep gay consumers. "Gay consumers seek out companies that support us," says Butler, who is openly gay. "Personally, I won't support companies that are antigay, and I will support companies that support my community. Advertising is simply a method of communicating that support."

Still, some automobile companies are only now beginning to focus on gay and lesbian consumers. Tom D'Angelo, national field advertising manager for Cadillac, wants to make sure that any gay-specific advertising his company does in the future is organic and does not seem like "blatant targeting--that wouldn't be right."

Terri Hines, senior manager of corporate and marketing communications for Nissan, notes that while her company does not target gay consumers specifically, Nissan does reach most of its gay customers through its general marketing campaign. Hines adds, however, that Nissan is exploring gay-specific marketing for the future.

Companies that are still contemplating a gay-specific campaign may be wondering if those brands at the forefront have suffered any backlash. The answer largely is no. Nash, who works with Subaru, says the only negative feedback the company received was "peculiar, but humorous." Subaru executives received a letter from a longtime Subaru owner who swore he would never buy another Subaru because of the use of Navratilova, whom the letter-writer described as a "dyke ... who will burn in hell." But since the return address was from a prison, it wasn't likely the writer would be buying a car anytime soon, said Nash.

Subaru was also targeted by a letter-writing campaign from a church in Tennessee. "Some of those letters were written in crayon," says Nash. Butler, who works with Ford, says that company has its response to negativity down pat: "We're no strangers to backlash, but typically the response is that we are welcoming to all customers. It's a philosophy of inclusion."

So what's next for companies wanting to target the gay market? Subaru announced in September that it has become the first major long-term advertiser on OutQ radio, the 24-hour channel available on Sirius satellite radio. And soon gay media consumers will have access to gay television networks like Logo and PrideVision, which The Commercial Closet's Wilke says will "revolutionize" the way companies target gay consumers: "Because TV offers more exposure, companies that never looked at the gay market and have significant TV budgets may give it a try."

However, Wilke adds, "Companies can't just throw one ad at gay consumers and think they're done. In order to be successful, they must have an integrated marketing plan and approach."