Most Americans may not be ready to accept gay marriage, but consider this: Not only does NBC's Will & Grace play in Peoria, it plays 20% better in the Illinois city than it does nationwide. The same holds true for other gay-themed shows that conventional wisdom claimed wouldn't fly in the fly-over states. In fact, Thorn Filicia, the designer on Bravo's Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, is now featured in Pier One ads, a subtle turn of the cultural corner for a mass merchandiser. "When mainstream advertisers use a gay spokesman, that's a big change," says Arthur Gruen, a partner at research firm Wilkofsky-Gruen Associates. He points out what some advertisers are just discovering: Gays have a relatively high per-capita disposable income. More significant, he notes, consumers now associate gay with being hip, an attitude once reserved for the tres chic fashionista magazine readers. That's why Pier One likes having Filicia around.
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