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 ...
Although there is frequent overlap, it is best not to confuse "lame" with "gay".
Forget all that, what about Flo? I like the ads and she’s more than a little quirky.
“Money a BIT tight?”
That’s so Gay!
Actually we aren’t supposed to say “that’s so Gay” any more because Gays are offended when you say “That so Gay” for anything that screams out in a shrill lisp GGGGGGAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY!
I heard that on the radio today, guess what the announcer was several ocive higher than the Vienna Boys Choir!
They are gay and so is Flo. In another commercial she asked a guy to guess what she was thinking about, and he responded “tacos”.
Good point.
On this very forum.
Totally gay.
I turn down the volume and re-voice the commercial, with the guy explaining that he pulled the watch out of the other guy’s butt.
I dunno. My midtown Starbucks was promoting the sountrack from Brokeback Mountain this afternoon. I find the timing suspicious.
Is that some sort of “gay magic trick” or something?
That reminds me of a joke...
"Nothing up my ... sleeve."
Sorry to disappoint you, but apparently a new ad is out this summer which defines their relationship as "friends."
Even more than the two guys in the Sonic ads?
I kinda think Flo has long outlasted her usefulness. Not to mention, she’s probably close to being out of lipstick.
The one that barfs me is like a Best Buy?? commercial. Some guy wants a PC and his wife wants a Mac, and the commercial is narrated by this young guy with glasses and short hair... he’s about the queerest thing I’ve seen since “West Side Story”.
Man, too much estrogen from BC pills has seeped in to the water supply or sumthin... We’re freakin doomed!!!
I think it is without a doubt a gay couple in the ad. Progresive is, well, progressive. Personally I don’t care one way or another, but it definitely set off my gaydar.
But I did not see gay.
And my gaydar is pretty reliable.
You know....I’d not even considered that until now. Hmmmmmm.
Oh, LAWD! lol! TMI, darlin’. :D
Who are they trying to kid? Those guys are queers, if you had any doubt the rainbow shirt should have nailed it shut. If the company is clarifying them as straight it is strictly CYA time (pardon the pun).
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