Subaru Case Study - The Arthur Page Society

the Denver Gay Pride Parade in 1996. 141 In 1999, Subaru sponsored a booth at Philadelphia’s
PrideFest, 142 and two years later, Subaru corporately-sponsored the Los Angeles Gay Pride
Festival. 143 Subaru sponsored Atlanta’s pride events in 2006 144 and Milwaukee’s events in
2009. 145
In 1999, Subaru sponsored Out Takes Dallas, the city’s annual gay and lesbian film
festival. 146 Likewise, Austin, TX, Provincetown, MA, Seattle, WA, and Washington DC’s film
festivals were sponsored by Subaru, 
 147 as was the 2003 Chicago Lesbian and Gay Film
Festival 148 .
Appealing to the outdoor lifestyles of its gay and lesbian consumers, Subaru sponsored
both GLAAD’S Ski Week in Telluride, CO 149 and The Advocate Golf Classic in 2004. 150
TV BRAND INTEGRATION: TEAM ECO-SUBARU AND THE L WORD
In 2002, Subaru signed on as the sole corporate sponsor for Eco-Challenge Fiji, a
competition-centric reality show on cable channel USA. The company sponsored Team Eco-
Subaru, 151 a team composed entirely of gay and lesbian athletes. 152
The L Word, a premium cable television drama that ran on Showtime between 2004 and
2009, featured a prominent Subaru product placement in multiple episodes. In a case of art
imitating life, Season 1, Episode 8 features a storyline in which a lesbian professional tennis
player is offered the opportunity to serve as the spokeswoman for a new Subaru campaign,
playfully winking at Martina Navratilova’s real-life 2000 celebrity sponsorship. 153 In a later
episode, Subaru reappeared as the corporate sponsor of the “Pink Ride,” a mock breast cancer
fundraising bicycle ride. 154 Additionally, a Subaru vehicle appeared in multiple episodes
throughout the show’s six season run.
Queer as Folk, Showtime’s earlier gay-themed series, also incorporated a Subaru tie-in.
To promote sales of the Season 1 DVD set, Subaru ran a sweepstakes offering a vehicle as the
grand prize. 155
Further extending their support of gay television, Subaru executives served on The Ad
Club’s November 2005 panel “The Queer Eye and What They Buy: Advertising to the Gay
Market.” Few companies could rival Subaru’s expertise, given the company’s 10 year history of
marketing to the communities by that point. 156
PARTNERING FOR AIDS RESEARCH
Although the “Pink Ride” was a fictitious event created for The L Word, Subaru began
sponsoring the AIDS/LifeCycle in 2004. The 545-mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los
Angeles brings attention to the disease and raises money for additional research. 157 Additionally,
Subaru hosts Dining Out for Life, an annual AIDS research fundraising event taking place in
over 70 U.S. cities. 158
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