When Ford Motor
Company unwittingly embroiled itself in the American Family Association
controversy late last year, all the pickets in the world weren’t wide enough to straddle that fence. In
the end, the Blue Oval rather tepidly re-asserted its practice of courting the so-called “pink dollar,” renewing advertising in GLBT
publications.
But to listen to the Detroit Free Press’ Desiree Cooper, Ford didn’t go far enough. The
columnist suggests Dearborn amp-up their decidedly reticent re-commitment and give America the Full Monty. In her
words, Ford should consider “becoming the world’s first ‘Brokeback’ car company.”
Her rationale?
Cooper waxes nostalgic, arguing that brands used to symbolize something… they “evoked meaning.” And if
you’re going to court a specific demographic, why not target one that’s dramatically wealthier than the
average?
Of course, while one can certainly posit that many carmakers have strayed too far from their core
mission by attempting to be
everything to everyone, the Freep’s columnist may have a hard time convincing the world (let alone Ford), that
explicitly designing and marketing for gay consumers is The Way Forward. In fact,
disproportionately high income rates or no, it isn’t readily clear whether the gay community would rally around such a
platform, or shun it altogether.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.