Why do gays drive subarus

Through its sponsorship of the Rainbow Card, Subaru contributed millions of dollars to HIV/AIDS research and LGBTQ causes that helped both their customers and people who couldn’t afford a.

How the Lesbaru thing got started

Back in the 90s, Subaru was pretty much the only car maker that ran ads in gay literature and magazines, since no other automaker did. Many ads targeted the demographic specifically. So they flew to the town, gathered a bunch of Subaru owners together in a room, and asked why they’d purchased their car. All of the owners there were women. They were also Subaru fanatics who said they liked being able to transport their dogs and go camping with ease.

And yes. They were also gay. Everyone knows the Subaru is, apart from the U-Haul, the ultimate dyke mobile. How did this stereotype come to be? Among gay people, it seems to have preceded Subaru’s explicit lesbian niche marketing. NPR’s Planet Money tells the whole story.

What cars do lesbians drive

But tucked beneath its hood lies a not-so-secret identity; it has become a certified lesbian icon. With a special place in the hearts (and garages) of gay drivers, Subarus are drive conversations around the intersections of identity, representation and targeted marketing. The Subaru team knew they had to support their gay and lesbian employees if they wanted to appeal to lesbian customers.

Anything else? Originally Posted by plugboots. The late 90's Legacy wagon I had at the time fit right in. Originally Posted by Norseman. Oh we can do that. They like deciphering it. Subarus are not only popular for their looks and practicality subarus their connection to the lesbian community is strategic and calculated, dating back to the early 90s.

I seem to remember hearing the term "Lesbaru" for the 1st time about yars ago from a local who was gay and slightly out, at the same time he was also dissing Lesbians to some extent and so I said well why you folks kind of on the same team fighting the good fight so to speak?

The real question, does driving one make you gay? For a car company, openly marketing to gay customers still felt new, if not taboo. The time now is AM. They conducted focus groups with owners of their vehicles. But that was a big deal. Did the company want to make advertisements for gay customers? Sold mine withand a dying tranny. But it was easier to get senior management on board with making ads for hikers than for lesbians.

What worked were winks and nudges. InSubaru made a bold move, hiring retired tennis star Martina Navratilova. It was the mid s, and sales of Subaru cars were in decline. The Forester stood out because of its softness. Inside Subaru of America, though, not everyone was united on the effort. Subarus this newly identified demographic, Subaru took a strategic gay approach. Rather than compete directly with Ford, Toyota, and other carmakers that dwarfed Subaru in size, executives decided to return to its old focus on marketing Subaru cars to niche groups—like outdoorsy types who liked that Subaru cars could handle dirt roads.

In the early nineties, this was a bold move. From this research, they discovered three unique demographic why, including educators, healthcare workers and IT professionals. Today, this IKEA ad of a gay couple shopping for a dining room table seems mundane. Linds Atlas, owner of a Outback her third Subaruhas trusted the brand for years. Upon reading the definition, they nodded at the drive enthusiastically.