Of all the industries to court the gay dollar, alcoholic beverage companies were first in line -- and it's a natural match because fags are all sad drunks in the end (jk!). Earlier, we looked at some print ad atrocities committed by Anheuser-Busch in the name of Bud Light. Now we come to you, after the jump, with some examples from another longtime diet beer marketer in gay publications, Miller Lite. Miller Brewing Companies stepped into the gay fray as early as the 70s as a sponsor of San Francisco Pride festivities, and later as a loyal sponsor of the Folsom Street fair' sponsorship which they had to quietly backpedal from in 2007 over controversy spawned by a certain Last Supper-themed promotional poster.
1994: This ad dates from the zeitgeist of 90s Chelsea faggotry and it's the earliest available from The Commercial Closet. You might not catch the gay subtext at first glance-that is if you weren't already reading OUT and sucking on a raspberry penis-pop when you came across it. There's a neon-rainbow beer sign in the background, and a cabana waiter in a bow-tie with a Flock-of-Seagulls haircut. Oh, and there's a bunch of "straight-acting" fags chuckling to each other about what jocks they are. (Click image for slightly larger version.)
1996: Miller got a little racier with this ad, though the unexpected twist they're referring to could mean a lot of things. If we had to guess: herpes.
1997: This particular campaign, dreamed up by some geniuses at Fallon Worldwide (Miller's ad agency that year), imagines that gay magazine readers might want to cut out some racially diverse paper dolls and dress them in a few stereotypical outfits. We especially love that a) all three dolls have the requisite 90s pole-climber boot option; b) the white guy in the bathing suit has Average, Buff, and Hairy torso options; c) Asian camper-man comes complete with a hairdryer for his camping trip because, of course, he's gay... and retarded; and d) is that black guy supposed to carry that enormous disco ball around like some sort of gay Sisyphus? (click images to enlarge)
1997: This ad, entitled "Always Brewed With Pride," made us think of this drink we learned about in bartending school called the Rainbow Pousse Cafe, which is the kind of thing that if you ever ordered it you should be gay bashed. And then shot.
2001: Connect A to B and celebrate what? You're 40 and alone and he's probably not going to call you back. Oh, sorry. It's our future calling. We're not picking up.
2001: This one is another subtle, almost-straight-acting sort of menagerie like the one from 1994, except by 2001 they were proud enough to sport faggy hats. We're guessing this ad was meant to pander to San Diego gays and all those who ever dreamed of rooftops and a few glorious, ethnically diverse pals to chuckle it up with on a Friday night.
2001: Welcome to the gay-is-the-new-straight Early Aughts. Rounding out Miller's '01 gay ad blitz was this national commercial that originally aired during an episode of ER and subsequently aired during Will & Grace and the NBA playoffs. Two randy ladies unwittingly send a beer over to a gay man in a bar, quickly seeing he already has a boyfriend with him. "At least he's not married," one of them quips. Cue personal laugh track.
2002: This one may be the true winner. Who hasn't fantasized about being raped with a beer bottle in some Fatty Arbuckle role play? Welcome to Castro Babylon.
2007: "When you know, you know." Are they talking about love here, or HIV status? Hard to say. In any case, we're glad they're cute and they've found each other and they've both managed to keep their shirts on this long. We've come a long way, girls.
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1996: Miller got a little racier with this ad, though the unexpected twist they're referring to could mean a lot of things. If we had to guess: herpes.
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