WATCH: This queer lip balm advert from Thailand has everybody talking

[Wilsonandson]

28 December 2017
Charlie Mathers
 
KA Lip Care suddenly got a lot more popular thanks to the storyline involving to male students
 

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There is still work to be done when it comes to queer representation on screen.

The little things make a difference though, this advert included!
An advert from Thailand for a lip balm has surfaced.
 
The advert is set in a school.
One student storms in, demanding to know why the other male student had upset his sister.
 
The student being questioned stands up, slowly propositioning the other student into a corner.
He notices the boy has chapped lips so applies lip balm for him, reminding him to take care of himself.
 
He then tells him what he told his sister: ‘I’m more interested in your older brother
 
https://www.gaystarnews.com/article/lip-balm-advert/#gs.snje3Sw

[Scott]

He can grease my lips any day!

 

[onthemoon]

Like it! 

 

Yes, they are good looking (otherwise they wouldn't be in an ad). But I like that this company publishes an mistakenly gay ad, not just a hint that they could be gay.

 

Judging from the number of times a link to this ad was forwarded to me, it may be going viral. A Marketer's dream.

[Jingthing]

Aren't both actors girls playing boys as is typical of that (mostly Japanese) genre that is targeted for the entertainment of mostly girls? Sorry, I don't see this as really gay representation in the western sense. but some kind of Asian cultural peculiarity. 

[onthemoon]

13 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Aren't both actors girls playing boys as is typical of that (mostly Japanese) genre that is targeted for the entertainment of mostly girls? Sorry, I don't see this as really gay representation in the western sense. but some kind of Asian cultural peculiarity. 

It's an Asian ad, it is irrelevant whether it represents Western gay values. Welcome to Asia, where not everything centers around the Western way of thinking.

[Jingthing]

As the target audience for this genre is hetero girls, I don't really think it's a gay forum topic to begin with. That's why I posted a cheeky POLL about it in the Farang Pub.

 

[canuckamuck]

Lip balm is for females and males of the non hetero spectrum, the only thing about the ad that is edgy is that they show what appears to be two males kissing. The only people made uncomfortable by the ad are people would be uncomfortable using the product in the first place. So it was probably not so much of a risk.

[Jingthing]

That's total B.S. All kinds of males use lip balm for DRY LIPS. Especially in colder climates.

[canuckamuck]

3 hours ago, Jingthing said:

That's total B.S. All kinds of males use lip balm for DRY LIPS. Especially in colder climates.

Just speaking for the people I know and hang out with in a cold country. Whenever a guy needs lip balm he just gets some from a girl because they always have it. But I have never seen a male friend buy any in a store. If they do buy it I am sure the numbers are pretty small percentage wise.

[Scott]

Whether it is gay or not, the link is a gay site.   There is no doubt that it is erotic, and at least mildly homo-erotic.  

 

As for your remark, canuckamuck, are you sure your from Canada.   Those dry, chapped, cracked lips are pretty common in the cold climates and a lot of people use lip balm.   One tube lasts a long time, so not usual to not see someone buy it.   Do you spend a lot of time checking out purchases?!!

[isaanbanhou]

Gentlemen, in Canada gay marriage was legalized ten years ago and we just made a 100 million dollar reparation to gays that were discriminated against when sodomy was a criminal offence (pre 1967).  We have openly gay ( same sex married) cabinet minister and the mayor of Calgary is both muslim and gay.  Gays in Canada are well accepted by most people and as a result there doesn t seem to be the in your face homosexual behaviour that Americans love to display and defend. 

 

As Jingthing said  "all kinds of men use lip balm" , correct, straight, gay, muslim and left handed men all use lip balm. It would be pointless to target advertising to 5% of the male population when you could target 100%.   

 

Just as wealthy people don t need to yell that they are wealthy to others, I believe gay people really don t need  to wear their sexuality on their sleeve if they are truly comfortable with their preference. 

[Scott]

Oh, a bit sensitive there?   The Gay Pride festival in Toronto is one of the largest in the world.   Apparently, some do 'wear it on the sleeve'.   I suspect it's not too much different than many Pride festivals, but Canadians are probably not as likely to get all upset about it.  

 

Now, excuse me, I must go put on some lip balm.  

[Kadilo]

 

 

"I believe gay people really don t need  to wear their sexuality on their sleeve if they are truly comfortable with their preference. "

 

I would say it's because they are truly comfortable with their preference that they can wear their sexuality on their sleeve.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

[isaanbanhou]

1 hour ago, Scott said:

Oh, a bit sensitive there?   The Gay Pride festival in Toronto is one of the largest in the world.   Apparently, some do 'wear it on the sleeve'.   I suspect it's not too much different than many Pride festivals, but Canadians are probably not as likely to get all upset about it.  

 

Now, excuse me, I must go put on some lip balm.  

Oh, a bit sensitive there?   Not at all , thank you, just a have a different perspective.  Tolerance and acceptance of others cultures are Canadian traits as are courtesy and the desire not to offend others.

 

 

While the travelling butts exemplify american gay culture

[onthemoon]

9 hours ago, isaanbanhou said:

Gentlemen, in Canada gay marriage was legalized ten years ago and we just made a 100 million dollar reparation to gays that were discriminated against when sodomy was a criminal offence (pre 1967).  We have openly gay ( same sex married) cabinet minister and the mayor of Calgary is both muslim and gay.  Gays in Canada are well accepted by most people and as a result there doesn t seem to be the in your face homosexual behaviour that Americans love to display and defend. 

 

As Jingthing said  "all kinds of men use lip balm" , correct, straight, gay, muslim and left handed men all use lip balm. It would be pointless to target advertising to 5% of the male population when you could target 100%.   

 

Just as wealthy people don t need to yell that they are wealthy to others, I believe gay people really don t need  to wear their sexuality on their sleeve if they are truly comfortable with their preference. 

And then why not have a gay commercial? There are many commercials depicting straight couples or straight romance, so I think it is perfectly OK to have a commercial depicting a gay scene. That's why I like this commercial; no apologies, just a guy liking another guy. Nothing special, nothing to see here. Except the lip balm. This ad does not advertise being gay, it advertises lip balm. 

 

And, with regards to the 5% of the male population - google for the Pink Dollar. There are many products targeted at gay people, it makes Marketing sense.

 

Plus, in a truly accepting society, straight guys would buy a lip balm with gay advertising as likely as gay guys would buy one with straight advertising, I'd think.

[isaanbanhou]

I agree with a lot of what you said. Many ads show people of colour,  interracial families or a gay couple and their childas they should.  

 

Any advertiser that directs their marketing to straight , white christian " traditional families " had best be selling bibles.

 

 

I am well aware of the pink dollar having had retail shops near Christopher Street in NYC 30 years ago. In the late 80's  the  gay community in New York was being ravaged by AIDS, the Times obituary was filled with men that contributed to the culture, arts and theatre especially.  Actup closed streets, buildings and subways on a daily basis to gain attention for the epidemic.   If two guys sharing a lip balm is a step forward for the cause I'm missing it

[onthemoon]

21 hours ago, isaanbanhou said:

I agree with a lot of what you said. Many ads show people of colour,  interracial families or a gay couple and their childas they should.  

 

Any advertiser that directs their marketing to straight , white christian " traditional families " had best be selling bibles.

 

 

I am well aware of the pink dollar having had retail shops near Christopher Street in NYC 30 years ago. In the late 80's  the  gay community in New York was being ravaged by AIDS, the Times obituary was filled with men that contributed to the culture, arts and theatre especially.  Actup closed streets, buildings and subways on a daily basis to gain attention for the epidemic.   If two guys sharing a lip balm is a step forward for the cause I'm missing it

It's a step forward because we are not in the US in the 1980s. It was there and then necessary to create awareness and fight discrimination.

 

This ad is in Asia in 2018. Being gay is not a big deal any more. Some men like women, others like men, so what. Isn't that what the fight in the US was and is all about? 

 

No, I'm not saying that there is no discrimination at all here, I used a little exaggeration to make the point: Imagine this ad in the US in the 1980s, and you would have heads rolling. That's why it's a big step forward, IMHO.

[taiwanatoa]

What is supposed to be queer about it ?