Ford acknowledges its gay customers ... at least, in Australia

In the United States, the Ford Motor Company has been criticized for advertising to gay customers for a couple years, with the anti-gay American "Family" Association organizing a boycott of the automaker. Earlier this year, Ford pulled its sponsorship of the GLAAD Media Awards, causing the AFA to declare success for their boycott. Ford, however, claimed that the move wasn't influenced by the AFA's complaints and later told the Advocate that they would continue to consider advertising in gay-oriented publications.

However, things look much brighter in Australia, where an ad featuring two same-sex couples has been running since the summer. The couples appear as part of a diverse tapestry of Ford Focus and Fiesta owners, with the tagline "Everyone's Journey is Different." So far, Ford hasn't faced a major backlash for acknowledging the existence of their gay customers in the ad.

A Ford spokesperson said that the ads aren't specifically gay-targeted, but seek to reach the wide variety of Australians interested in smaller cars like the Focus and Fiesta. Interest in smaller cars has grown in Australia (that's a trend I wish would make to the states) and this was a way for them to try to reach out to a variety of groups with a single campaign.

The Commercial Closet has the ad, so you can check it out for yourself. It's a well-designed ad that would certainly catch my attention if it appeared on my TV and a nice subtle way to pass an inclusive message to its customers.