Posted on 06/08/2009 12:57:12 PM PDT by presidio9
The Spot: Two guys walk into a store that sells insurance services from Progressive. The first guy says he needs to save some money on his auto insurance—things have gotten so dire that he was forced to sell his watch to the other guy. After the clerk finds a lower coverage rate, she suggests that the first guy will now be able to buy his watch back. "Not for sale," says the second guy. "That's cold," says the clerk.
Are they or aren't they? There's been chatter on the Web, and in YouTube comments, about whether the two guys in this Progressive commercial are supposed to be a couple. The evidence is thin but as best I can tell consists of the following elements:
The tall guy's speech and mannerisms seem to be tripping a lot of folks' gaydar. Something in the way the men look at each other—close together, face-to-face—suggests they're not just hetero buddies. When the clerk asks if money's been tight, she looks back and forth between the two guys as though she's assuming they're a joint entity. The clincher: The shorter guy appears to be wearing a rainbow T-shirt beneath his blazer. Ads featuring gay characters are exceedingly rare, bordering on nonexistent, when it comes to mainstream network television. (It may be indicative that GLAAD's Commercial Closet, a repository of gay-themed ads, includes several spots that are merely "gay vague"—for instance, this Bud ad in which a guy rehearses his marriage proposal while kneeling before a male friend.) Perhaps this Progressive ad was designed to split the difference: subtly winking at the gay community while making no definitive statement on the characters' sexuality.
It's worth remembering that Progressive has a famously nontraditional corporate culture. The
(Excerpt) Read more at slate.com ...
Actually, the respondants on Slate are as confused as we are.
How many of you in a “relationship” would have to sell your watch to the other person if you were short on cash?
How many of you would buy the watch instead of just helping out the other one?
If the other insisted you take the watch, how many of you would not let the other have the watch back when they got some money?
If they are supposed to be gay, I don't think it speaks well of gay relationships. But then, what do I know, maybe that's the way it is in that community.
That one gave a stronger hit on the gaydar than the watch one.
That’s not even the new ad anymore. But I doubt it.
Tramp Stamp or No Tramp Stamp?
Well, if not the Gecko, WITHOUT QUESTION, the Cave Men.
Joke post?
Wow. People are reading way too much into this. Why would a man sell a watch to his partner if he’s short on money? In most relationships, one partner would help the other out during tough economic times, since what hurts one hurts the other. Maybe the guys are two gay men who are friends, but really, even that is a stretch.
That quiznos ad ad on the other hand...
Progressive is run by huge liberal Democratic donors.
Today. Jiff commercial. White dad building a tree house for his daughter. Daughter goes and makes him a PB&J and brings it to him.
Rather a nice commercial.
The guys are gay. They way they look at each other, and the way the tall guy shows Flo the watch, it all reeks of “Ooooh, we’re such a couple.”
The watch was a device so that the tall guy would be wearing something of the short guy. Kinda like “getting pinned” in a perverse way.
I thought it was pretty obvious. The little guy has a rainbow on his shirt, for crying out loud.
Yeah, like what is there to wonder about? :-)
I’m not confused.
Oh no... they are totally gay.
I hate these commercials so I don’t watch them. So thanks for FORCING me out of curiosity.
That said, Guilty. Definite implication of a homosexual couple. Not even subtle.
Remember, every person, every item of clothing, every angle, every nuance is controlled in a commercial. It is not an accident these guys look at each other, almost touch, etc. Clearly a homosexual couple. Clearly. Without any doubt.
No commercial is more gay than Quizno’s Toasty Torpedo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LQpRQh2KSQ
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