Outspoken advertising maven Donny Deutsch has weighed in on the rejected Mancrunch ad for the Super Bowl saying not enough gays watch football to warrant the ad buy. He told Larry King:
It’s hard to argue that it makes sense to reach a very targeted audience of gay males in America by advertising to this mass audience. So you can’t say with a straight face that that was a smart media buy, can ya?
“Straight face”? Cute, Donny. I guess it depends on what the company is trying to accomplish with the ad buy. Plus, the site isn’t just geared toward gay men, it’s geared toward men who want to have sex with other men. That’s not double-speak: There are plenty of men who identify as straight who end up on sites looking for hook-ups with other guys. And what better spot to reach men than the Super Bowl?
Check out Donny and the panel on the subject after the jump.
Even worse is jackass Dennis Prager on the Larry King panel who calls the ad “advocacy.” Because everything gay has to be advocacy. He says he doesn’t want parents having to answer questions about two men hugging. I guess he’s OK with kids watching four hours of alcohol commercials, though. Again, he’s a jackass.
Plus, the guy who created the ad says it cost $100k to produce. Looks like it cost $100. Ugh.
on Feb 4th, 2010 at 1:56 PM
“Dennis Prager… says he doesn’t want parents having to answer questions about two men hugging.”
How about a group of men hugging and patting each other on the butt? That’s basically what you see when you watch a football game.
And how does Donny Deutsch know that gays don’t watch football? Did he do a survey? And Super Bowl advertising extends beyond the game itself, what with the media covering and reviewing the commercials–replaying them as business/news reports. So advertisers are reaching people in many ways.
on Feb 4th, 2010 at 2:53 PM
Heterosexuals have lost their collective minds.
on Feb 4th, 2010 at 3:48 PM
I don’t want to split hairs on the Mancrunch issue because, Cyd, I largely agree with you. CBS’ collective advertising decisions over the past two weeks — in its directorial role in Focus on the Family and uncharacteristic rejection of a GoDaddy spot — represent a very blatant conservative agenda and are stained with right-wing bigotry.
That said, you make some really odd rhetorical decisions in this post. First, you defend Mancrunch — a decidedly fake website — and laud it for sexually connecting “not gay” men? Men who have sex with other men are either gay or bisexual: all “identifications” aside. Calling it otherwise is double-speak and a performative plié by insecure men to fit some societal norm.
Second, you can’t really believe that the juxtaposition of a gay-themed commercial against the Super Bowl’s hypermasculine advertising backdrop isn’t at least a little bit political. Calling it advocacy may be a stretch, sure. But to not recognize the political/cultural significance seeing homosexuality (or “straight male hook ups”) broadcast in such a setting is uncharacteristic of you and of outsports.
Yes, we gays watch the Super Bowl. Yes, promoting alcoholism and silencing homosexuality is dumb and nonsensical. And yes, Deutsch is a douche. We have common ground there. But don’t belittle your the quality of your commentaries just to make a frustrated comeback.
on Feb 4th, 2010 at 6:25 PM
First off, I am gay and I freaking cant wait for Superbowl or any sports, I am a die hard sports fanatic. Donny Deutsch is a complete douchebag to make comments like that. I guess he took that poll when he was bent over the bar at the “Manhole” while comparing hair, make-up, (Uh yes, Donnie YOU DO wear it, a fact) and what outfits the figure skaters will wear during the Olympics while getting pounded by some twink queen name Skip! And Dennis Prager, with looks like that, the only thing you are ever going to get is Larry Craig in the bathroom at the Minneapolis airport, but we all know you probably done that many times, barf!
on Feb 4th, 2010 at 10:26 PM
“Men who have sex with other men are either gay or bisexual: all “identifications” aside.” Really? If 90 percent of the time a married man has sex with his wife, but the other 10 percent he goes out and has sex with another man, he must call himself gay?
It would be interesting to see an extensive scientific poll of gay men to see how many watch the Super Bowl as compared to, say, the Oscars or Desperate Housewives or something.
I can see Donny Deutsch’s point…well, what I think his point is, based solely on what’s on this blog and not on an actual viewing of the show…does it make sense to spend nearly $3 million on one ad for an audience that is mostly straight? Wouldn’t it make more sense to spread out that $3 million on multiple airings on different shows to perhaps reach a larger audience?
on Feb 5th, 2010 at 12:09 AM
Joe Guckin,
No matter the proportions of a man’s sexual exploits, if he finds enjoyment of sexual relations with (or event attraction to) another man, he is bisexual. That is the definition of bisexuality.
The reason I said “‘identifications’ aside” is because we as people, as human beings, are exceptionally prone to lie to eachother or ourselves about the truth. “Identity” is an internal and external fiction that we write and tell that helps us make sense of our experiences in relationship to others.
What we “call ourselves” is more concerned with social pressure than it is objective truth. If a man is married and has occasional affairs with men, and he enjoys sex with both sexes, he is (objectively) bisexual even if he declares himself to be otherwise.
on Feb 5th, 2010 at 1:37 AM
Mancrunch has reached its lofty audience now without spending a penny. Nice work, PR guys.
on Feb 5th, 2010 at 12:16 PM
You know, this whole thing has been successful in that it was the best FREE advertising for this website.
“Contrived controversy gets gay website all over the air.” News, blogs and commentary every day for weeks. And Mancrunch saved a couple of million bucks.
on Feb 5th, 2010 at 5:23 PM
I think its so great that it cost mancrunch no more than production costs to get results! Will Budwesier or Coca-Cola have ???% increase in revenues due to their over-hyped lame commercials???? No, but Mancrunch is getting results!
on Feb 6th, 2010 at 10:26 AM
It’s true that there are some gay people that would prefer to watch the Oscar’s over the SB, but even those that aren’t into the game will watch just for the halftime show and the commercials. The commercials always get a lot of buzz and if Mancrunch were allowed to be aired I suspect alot of gays would tune in just to see it. Controversy always attracts eyeballs.