How Subarus Came to Be Seen as Cars for Lesbians

Summary:

The article discusses how Subaru’s attempt at picking up their sales by focusing their sales at five core groups: teachers and educators, healthcare and IT professionals, outdoorsy types, and lesbians. They found that among lesbians, “there was such an alignment of feeling, like [Subaru cars] fit with what they did”, noted by how they were good for outdoor trips, as well as could haul things without being as large as an SUV or pickup. Because of this, Subaru focused on ads targeting these specific groups and in particular noted how “playful coding” of certain meanings or images within the advertisements was preferred by the lesbian and LGBTQ community as a whole.

Outside Example:

In 2017 Pepsi released an advertisement depicting a group of protesters moving through the streets. The ad also features Kendall Jenner who joins the protesters after removing her blonde wig. As she moves through the crowd, everyone is greeting her with smiles and fist bumps until she approaches the line of stern faced officers. A photographer in the background, seeing the tension between the crowd and the officers rise, prepares to take a picture of a possible clash. However, Kendall Jenner steps to the front of the crowd and breaks formation to hand one of the officers a Pepsi, which ultimately leads to a celebration within the crowd and smiles from the officers that deescalates the situation.

Connection:

The problem with this ad was that at the time of its release, there were many protests underway within America of the #BlackLivesMatter movement. The ad was criticized for its shallow view of what the movement stood for and how it undermined the entire point of the movement itself. Looking back at the difference of how Subaru marketed their cars, they took careful consideration into coding their ads so that whether they were viewed by the average consumer or by their target audience, they were viewed in a positive light. Furthermore, Subaru also went out of its way and donated to charities that aimed to combat HIV/AIDS. Alternatively, Pepsi tried taking advantage of the circumstances as it wanted to cast itself in a positive light among consumers, as if it was a magical elixir that mended both sides of the #BlackLivesMatter movement together.