Gay Commercial: Appletiser

[reviews_and_ramblings]

A young woman alone at a bar notices an attractive man near her and tries to flirt with him. Then he is approached by another man who squeezes his rear, then hugs and kisses him (the view is obscured and shot from behind). The man looks back at the woman with the fellow who just joined him, and she raises her glass to them and smiles at her misunderstanding.

The ad was the result of research by South African Breweries and it tested well in focus groups.

A spokeswoman for the company describes the ad this way, "What defines today's woman is attitude. Attitude towards herself, attitude towards her life and attitude towards her world. She is defined by who she is and what she represents -- her inner strength, her individuality, her spirit. We define this woman as having 'Appletude.'

In a clear role reversal our Appletude woman is doing what men often do and is taking the initiative and ogling the guys. She clearly is confident and enjoying her own company. We see her reaction as the different guys don't measure up to her standards and she finally spots a guy who looks quite cute.

As she gives him the once over, she is taken back when his 'friend' arrives and it is clear that they are much more than friends. Instead of feeling rejected, she composes herself.

She is a real Appletude woman -- her confidence is unshaken by this incident, as she realizes 'you win some, you lose some.' Single women in this age group agree that this is a very common occurrence in their social scene. It often leads to scenes of either extreme discomfort or hilarity, depending on how the woman handles the situation."

The storyline is very similar to one for Miller Lite in the U.S. Gay male couples increasingly show open affection in straight bars, however unlikely that is in reality.

Commercial Closet Association

Company: South African Breweries
Brand: Appletiser
Ad Title: Bottoms Up
Business Category: Non-Alcoholic Beverages
Media Outlets: Television
Country: South Africa
Region: Africa
Agency: Euro RSCG Worldwide
Year: 2002, 2001
Target: Mainstream
Ad Spotter: Zaid Hoosain

Comments

[jaye-valentine.livejournal.com]

"Bottoms up!"

That's great. I love that you post these, Elisa. :-)

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

They are little movie, and I like them, so I like to share ;-) Elisa

[anahcrow.livejournal.com]

That's so cute. And I love the momentary bait-and-switch where there's the thought that maybe the hand is hers, but it's not. Awww. That's why the gay guy needs to bring his straight friend along!

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

But I also like that she is not disappointed, or at least not too much and raise the glass to him. Elisa

[anahcrow.livejournal.com]

Definitely. It shows class and a lot of straight men could learn something there; I find that straight guys are terrible about being even a little bit disappointed. I think it also shows an acceptance that women do not have the automatic entitlement to a man's attention that I used to see from women when I was in university, that they'd be angry that gay men were "stealing" men from them. Even if the man in question was bisexual, would you want to date that bad attitude? :p

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

Absolutely not! It would be a bad date for many reason. Elisa

[janedavitt.livejournal.com]

That was cute and I loved her attitude when she realized she was out of luck and theirs. I imagine them maybe coming over to chat and making friends maybe.

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

Yes, it could be a nice development. Elisa

[eevereon.livejournal.com]

I love how she accepted the way things turned out (although in real life it probably won't be that way). Commercials like this one always put a smile on my face. Thanks for posting ♥

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

Well, I will probably do the same, so it's not so impossible ;-) Elisa

[eevereon.livejournal.com]

Hm yeah, I shouldn't be so negative. But the majority of the people I know are against homosexuality ._.

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

little by little we will be the majority, I'm sure of it. Elisa

[jordan-c-price.livejournal.com]

How about the company spokesperson who has to describe "appletude" in all seriousness? Yowsa.

I really liked the vibe of the commercial. I thought the woman's attitude looked more like, "Yay, you're gay!" than "Win some, lose some."

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

You are right about the attitude of the woman, it's more like a nice surprise for her than a small disappointment. Elisa