How Subarus Came to be Seen as Cars for Lesbians

Summary: Executives working for Subaru during the 1990’s attempted to reinvigorate their sales by marketing their cars to more niche groups as opposed to the common demographic of white individuals ranging from 18-35. They realized their top customers were teachers, educators, healthcare professionals, IT professionals, outdoorsy types and lesbians. This article discussed how the car appealed to lesbians, which consisted of its ability to manage outdoor trips and carry large items without being a huge SUV. Subaru concentrated on these groups, openly marketing towards the lesbian crowds. Although it was a bold move, the company decided those boycotting the company had never bought a subaru anyways. Subaru reaps many benefits from their bold move even today. Their compassion and efforts made their campaign more ‘progressive’ and less ‘cynical’.

Outside Example: An outside example is the Colin Kaepernick from Nike. Nike made a bold move to reach a specific audience, specifically those who believe in standing up for equality. THis reading reminded me of this Nike campaign because it turned off some consumers while simultaneously reaching a new group of people. In addition, I realized while reading how little different sexual orientations were discussed at the time of Subaru’s ad. This realization reminded me of how the kneeling within NFL games also began to spark conversations that were often pushed to the side or silenced on larger platforms. 

Connection: Similar to the Subaru article, Nike also understood they would receive some backlash for running this campaign. However, they made the executive decision to run the campaign fully. Subaru, as discussed in the article, is now known as progressive for their marketing choices in the exact way that the Colin Kaepernick campaign made Nike as a brand follow the ‘progressive’ trend. As discussed in the article, both Nike and Subaru attacked social problems with their ads that were barley being discussed in the public sphere and for that reason both companies took a leap in their marketing strategies, however the ‘progressive’ reputations of both companies has been a positive aspect of their companies.