While several Olympic sponsors have spoken out against Russia's restrictions on gay rights ahead of the Sochi Winter Games, Chevrolet rolled out two ads during the U.S. broadcast of the opening ceremony on Friday that feature gay couples.
The ads are the first to feature gay couples during an Olympic broadcast, according to GLAAD, an advocacy group for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. They also come at a time when a fairly new Russia law banning gay "propaganda" from reaching minors has drawn strong international criticism ahead of the Games.
Three sponsors of the U.S. Olympic Committee — AT&T, DeVry University and yogurt maker Chobani — have spoken out explicitly against the Russian law. Other companies that have remained silent on the issue have been criticized on social media. And there have been calls for a boycott of the Sochi Games from gay activists and others around the world.
Chevy, a unit of General Motors Co. that is not an official sponsor, didn't comment on the Russian laws specifically, instead saying in a statement that "these ads … are not intended as any political commentary."
But some advertising experts say the commercials make a pretty clear statement. "Actions speak louder than words," said Allen Adamson, managing director of the New York office of branding firm Landor Associates. "The action of putting a spot on the Olympics is far more powerful than a press release. It's a very clear statement of what they believe Chevy stands for."
One ad, called "The New Us," for the Chevrolet Traverse crossover SUV, shows quick shots of many different families, including a gay male couple with a son and a daughter. "While what it means to be a family hasn't changed, what a family looks like has," a voiceover states. "This is the new us."
Another ad, an overall Chevrolet brand spot, features a pastiche of different images of America, including a shot of a gay couple getting married. "Like the old love, the new love starts with a kiss," a voiceover states. "Like the old community, the new community still keeps us connected. … A whole new lineup for a whole new world."
The ads are the latest example of advertisers trying to be more inclusive in terms of who they show in their commercials. During the Super Bowl last week, Cheerios featured an interracial couple and Coca-Cola showcased a diverse array of families from different ethnicities and backgrounds, including a gay couple. The Coke ad was the first time a gay couple had been featured in a Super Bowl ad.
The ads "truly reflect the fabric of our nation, which today includes gay and lesbian families," GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said.
Google Opens Its Defense In Antitrust Case Alleging Monopoly Over Online Ad Technology
Google opened its defense against allegations that it holds an illegal monopoly on online advertising technology Friday with witness testimony saying the industry is vastly more complex and competitive than portrayed by the federal government.
"The industry has been exceptionally fluid over the last 18 years," said Scott Sheffer, a vice president for global partnerships at Google, the company's first witness at its antitrust trial in federal court in Alexandria.
The Justice Department and a coalition of states contend that Google built and maintained an illegal monopoly over the technology that facilitates the buying and selling of online ads seen by consumers.
Google counters that the government's case improperly focuses on a narrow type of online ads — essentially the rectangular ones that appear on the top and on the right-hand side of a webpage. In its opening statement, Google's lawyers said the Supreme Court has warned judges against taking action when dealing with rapidly emerging technology like what Sheffer described because of the risk of error or unintended consequences.
Google says defining the market so narrowly ignores the competition it faces from social media companies, Amazon, streaming TV providers and others who offer advertisers the means to reach online consumers.
Justice Department lawyers called witnesses to testify for two weeks before resting their case Friday afternoon, detailing the ways that automated ad exchanges conduct auctions in a matter of milliseconds to determine which ads are placed in front of which consumers and how much they cost.
The department contends the auctions are finessed in subtle ways that benefit Google to the exclusion of would-be competitors and in ways that prevent... Read More