Lesbaru… I mean Subaru
As NPR’s Planet Money mentioned on their recent podcast about Subaru, the term Lesbaru was not accidental. It was a design choice that allowed Subaru to be the only company to not lose market shares during the Recession.
In the 1990s, Subaru was losing. They were losing to companies such as Ford, Toyota, and many other competitors. They needed a change, so they did some user interviewers.
What they found during these interviewers: The main buyers of these cars were not only the outdoorsy type of people. More than that, they were women. More than that, these women were gay.
In the 90’s, the world was a bit different. Political debates still included gay rights and the internet wasn’t really a thing. “I can’t emphasize enough that this was before there was any positive discussion [of LGBT issues],” says Tim Bennett. Gay causes seemed to be on the losing side of the culture war: the Clinton Administration had just created its “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy regarding homosexuality in the military, and in 1996, Congress would pass the Defense of Marriage Act”. But Subaru did not care that being gay was seen as “bad.” They did not care about which way their user identified.
They studied their users and found that “Lesbians liked their dependability and size, and even the name “Subaru.” They were four times more likely than the average consumer to buy a Subaru.”
Subaru then designed ads like these that covertly was reaching out to their users:
As you may or may not have noticed, the CAMP OUT license plate on the left refers to being out and the XENA LVR refers to being a Xena lover. Xena Warrior Princess was a popular television show at the time and lesbians loved Xena. Even the main words reach out to this audience. You are different, but that’s okay because we are different. Come into our circle. Buy one of our cars.
It was clever.
This was not designed by accident. Subaru hired an agency who specifically targets people who are out.
They designed other tag lines such as “Get Out. And Stay Out” as well as “It’s Not a Choice. It’s the Way We’re Built.”
Subaru users LOVED the campaign. These ads spoke directly to them. These ads weren’t afraid of getting too close and having AIDS. They wanted the gays! And the gays loved that!
Subaru continued its momentum by hiring Martina Navratilova, a former tennis pro who was an out lesbian, to be the spokesperson for their ad campaigns.
Navratilova was not only the spokeswoman for Subaru but also an advocate for lesbians in the athlete world. She was their spokeswoman because she was gay. That was progress.
Like every great movement, the campaign faced massive uproar. Bennett, one of the lead designers of the ads, “says the campaign survived only because their team really cared about the project and had the support of a cohort of straight allies in the company.
And the Subaru company line did have some truth to it. In response to the ads, Subaru received letters from a grassroots group that accused the carmaker of promoting homosexuality. Everyone who penned a letter said they’d never buy a Subaru again. But the marketing team quickly discovered that none of the people threatening a boycott had ever bought a Subaru. Some of them had even misspelled “Subaru.” Like nerds who grow up to confront their bullies, Subaru executives came to realize that the people opposing the acknowledgement of gays and lesbians were not as imposing as they seemed.”
In fact, most people didn’t even notice. The unnoticed was so noticed by designers that a coin was termed: gay vague. It meant that you would somehow obtain Harry Potter’s cloak of invisibility, put it over every straight person’s eyes, then place in an advertisement for gays only. As complex as this seems, it's much simpler to do in action than you think.
Lesbians looked upon Subaru ads with smiles. They were now the ones in the know while everyone else was on the outside. It was miraculous f eeling for them during a time which was less accepting than today’s standards.
So next time someone looks at you and says, “You can’t change the world by design.” Look at them, smile, and know that you are in the know and they are on the outside.
