A General Motors ad featuring the Chevy
Volt coming out electric has proven to be a hit for the automaker.
The ad celebrating Detroit's annual Gay
Pride parade featured a silver Chevy Volt proclaiming, “Mom, Dad,
I'm electric” along with the text: “Volt runs on an electric
battery and a gas generator. So, whatever revs your engine, we
support you 100%. Happy Motor City Pride from the entire Chevrolet
family.”
According to all things General Motors
blog GMAuthority.com, the ad has been viewed more than 11 million
times on social media.
The ad was first published in Michigan
gay weekly Between the Lines.
“This was a good omen,” said Jan
Stevenson, co-publisher of Between the Lines. “They put
their toe in the water, and it worked out really, really well. If
anyone's really paying attention to it, they would say, 'Wow, this is
an untapped market.'”
GM spokesman Tom Henderson said
that the Volt ad “told us that this was something worth
undertaking when the opportunities present themselves.”
Other car manufacturers, most notably
Ford Motor Company, have faced criticism for including LGBT-positive
messages in their advertising. In 2008, the Christian conservative
group American Family Association ended a two-year boycott against
Ford after it stopped advertising to the demographic. The automaker,
however, stated that it stopped running all niche advertising when
the economy soured.