The above advertisement was plastered all over the Harlem neighborhood of New York City by Nike in anticipation of the release of its Hyperdunk line of shoes. It depicts two basketball players, with one's face placed in close proximity to the groin of the other. It is implied that the player in white is able to dunk because of the new Nike shoes he is wearing.
What is also implied in this advertisement is a clear sense of homophobia. The text of the ad, "That Ain't Right", clearly refers to the idea of two males in close proximity to each other as disgusting or unnatural. This is hardly a new trend in advertising targeted towards young men, but one might think that as our culture moves towards greater tolerance of all people, these ads would be viewed as backward or juvenile. Not so. Especially during television programming like sports events, these advertisements are all too common, making childish jokes and stereotyping a group of people who already deal with bigotry on a daily basis. And consider this PSA:
This was part of a series of PSAs designed to combat the homophobic use of the phrase "That's so gay" and its derivatives. They were awarded the prize for creative excellence by the National Ad Council. And yet CBS chose not to run this advertisement during this past Superbowl. Why? Because they don't believe it would appeal to a mainstream young male audience. The fact that it is a widely held belief that gay men don't watch sports or wear Nike basketball shoes? Well, that ain't right.
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