Many businesses have the opportunity to have the public’s eye. What businesses do with this privilege is up to them. I am always inspired when a company uses the power of media and advertising to support a cause or make a positive statement. Whether the statement is “this is what we believe” or “this is now the reality of society today and we are going to support it”. Advertising has the ability to inspire people.
New York Times recently wrote an article about Banana Republic’s new ad campaign that consists of your average beautiful models wearing trendy clothing and also a real-life gay couple. A celebrity gay couple (Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent) but still a real life gay couple. At least to me this should not be a big deal. I mean, I do not know why this has not been a normal thing for a long time now. New York Times writer Stuart Elliot says, “Decades ago, the Banana Republic campaign would have been alone in a sea of ads with heteronormative casting” but today companies are starting to realize that relatable and realistically diverse advertising is the way to go. Considering, “who knew that after all these years, we would discover a whole new generation of explorers that needed outfitting in a new way, who would insist on doing not what they should, but what they loved” (New York Times). As I consider myself a part of this “new generation of explorers”, our media should represent the world we live in, for relatable purposes. I will be less likely to want to go to a store where all of their models look nothing like me and are the essence of photo shopped perfection (but this is a topic for another day).
Banana Republic claims that their goal is to show their clothing more realistically on more realistic people and couples: “The point of the casting was not to be provocative, said Trey Laird, chief creative officer at Laird & Partners in New York…Rather, the goal was ‘to reflect our world and how we live’ he said, ‘in a true, genuine way’”(New York Times). In my life, I have grown up believing you can love whomever you want to and wear whatever you want to. As viewers we choose our reactions to advertisements, pictures, slogans, and any company’s ideals. I love that clothing companies are using their advertising and media power to portray our world positively. As a “net impactor”, I support any business that uses their marketing voice to make a positive difference so all I have to say is GO BANANA!
By Olivie Newell
UMass Net Impact 