Come Together campaign for Gay.com

Today PlanetOut Inc. and Gay.com have unveiled a new campaign to create awareness and get people to visit Gay.com. The ads will appear on wallscapes, billboards, and transit shelters and in gay-focused print media in key markets including San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles and Boston, as well as in mid-sized markets including Houston, Dallas, Atlanta and San Diego.

The "Come Together" campaign was produced by an internal creative team which included Christy Schaefer, director of the Creative Services Group for PlanetOut Inc. and graphic designers Ivan Vargas and Donovan Smandra and was shot by San Francisco photographer Erik Butler.

"This is a message about inclusion in an environment of exclusion," said Lowell Selvin, chairman and CEO of PlanetOut Inc. "We strongly believe that gay people deserve to love, to be together and to enjoy all the ideals and privileges that the American flag represents. We also think that this campaign will elicit an emotional response in gay and straight people alike."


The "Come Together" campaign is designed to make a strong, affirming statement, as well as to draw members and subscribers to Gay.com. The story of the campaign evolves through each of three executions. In the first execution, called "Anthem," two men stand defiant before the American flag, strong in their separate beliefs. Through the next two executions, called "Embody" and "Comfort," the men unite, finding love and companionship.


Christy Schaefer said, "The campaign depicts two men who overcome their political division by finding a personal connection as they debate their passionate viewpoints," she said. "For our campaign, we chose the American flag as the object of debate and the hero."

I like the sentiment of the campaign but can't help but find the line "Come Together" cheesy as well is making me think "Eeep!", especially when the shots are of males in a state of undress. Not that I'm against them coming together, per se, but it's just a question of how the public takes that line I suppose. Although considering that they are placing the ads in more gay friendly areas, perhaps that won't be an issue.

Agency: PlanetOut Inc