Subarus and Lesbians

Reading Summary

According to The Atlantic, Subarus were popularly marketed toward lesbians. In the 1990’s Subaru was trying to compete with some of the leading car sellers, but could not compete in that market. So, Subaru did a study to find who its main market was. They found a fifth core group that purchased Subarus, lesbians. During the nineties they could not directly market towards lesbians because they were not as widely accepted as they are today. The reason that Subarus appealed to the lesbian demographic is because of their low-key life style and appearance. They were versatile like a truck but not as flashy and this appealed to lesbians. So, despite the possible backlash Subaru pushed a lesbian marketing campaign and it was wildly successful, thus making Subarus the “lesbian car”. Some people began to boycott businesses that supported and others sent in threats, but none of this stopped Subaru with the campaign.

Outside Example

This reading reminded me of when people began to boycott Chick-fil-a. Last year people were boycotting Chick-fil-a because of their support of a Christian organization and their stance in regards to the LGBTQ community. Many withdrew from purchasing their food and even protesting it. Even on our campus we almost had Chick-fil-a removed from Coates because of the controversy behind it. Ultimately, Chick-fil-a was not removed from Coates, but they did stop their funding to that organization because of the negative publicity. As long as I still get to eat Chick-fil-a, I am happy.

Reading Connection

The Chick-fil-a protests and the Subaru protests are similar but opposite at the same time. Both companies recieved backlash because of their support of certain beliefs. Chick-fil-a received backlash due to their support of a community that does not support LGBTQ. Subaru received backlash due to their support of the LGBTQ community. Neither company went out of business or were seriously hurt, but the attention from media in both instances is prominent. The support of these companies is also juxtaposed with each other. Although the backlash was similar, the things they were supporting were completely opposite perspectives.