Martina Navratilova will be featured in a multimillion-
dollar TV and print campaign for Subaru of America,
according to Stuart Elliott of the N.Y. TIMES, who calls the
deal "another sign of the increasing appearance in
mainstream advertising of imagery associated with gay men
and lesbians." The campaign, via Temerlin McClain, TX, is
scheduled to break this week and also includes golfers Meg
Mallon and Juli Inkster, as well as skier Diann Roffe-
Steinrotter. The headline of the print ads "designates
Subaru as 'a proud sponsor of women who kick' a certain part
of the anatomy." In the TV spot, set to appear on networks
such as ESPN, The Golf Channel and the Outdoor Life Network,
"shots of the women at play are interspersed with them
asking rhetorically about attributes like performance, grip
and control, meant to refer to both their sports and their
Subarus." The spot closes with Navratilova smiling saying,
"But what do we know? We're just girls" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/13).
CHANGING TIMES? The ad marks Navratilova's "first
appearance in a national" TV ad. Navratilova: "All most
other advertisers could see was the fact that I'm a lesbian.
... Subaru doesn't care. They see me as everything I am."
Subaru of America Marketing Programs Dir Tim Bennett called
Navratilova the "consummate professional" who "personifies
the attributes of our brand as a go-anywhere, do-anything
type of individual. We view her as an active lifestyle
woman and the other stuff as no one's business." Temerlin
McClain CEO & Exec Creative Dir Dennis McClain: "We did
research on the advertising and got an extremely positive
response from the target audience" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/13).
