Target’s Gok Wan ad draws homophobic complaints
Target has publicly defended their most recent ad featuring British personality Gok Wan despite viewer complaints labeling it as “offensive”.
The thirty second advertisement features Wan as he playfully showcases different bras available in store and reiterates the importance of purchasing the correct size. Some viewers filed complaints with the Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB) stating that Wan referring to breasts as “bangers” was distasteful and demeaning. However, this insinuation was frequently coupled with blatantly homophobic remarks about Wan.
“I WAS BREAST FED, NOT BANGER FED! It’s an insult to sooooo many Aussie men and woman to see poofs on tv but you let it happen,” one wrote to the bureau.
Another wrote that “it’s an offence to any decent person to watch some queer guy advertising and blaspheming and using insulting descriptive words re a woman’s body and to be prancing around half dressed girls”.
The ASB dismissed all complaints and praised the ad for its positivity and lightheartedness. Target responded in total defence of Wan, and asserted that “Target strongly believes that a person’s sexuality is irrelevant to their worth as a person. Target makes no apology for using a gay man in its advertising and we do not believe that this should be grounds for upholding a complaint.”
I’m bisexual but I don’t know whether or not I like gok. I mean, all of my friends have said that gays have really good personalities and gok really does if you look past his sexuality. If I was gay, I’d be a straight-acting type but that doesn’t matter. My point is, gok shouldn’t be getting all this s*it homophobia. Homophobes aren’t scared of gays, theyre just a**holes because they think that the people that have a different sexual preference to hetero’s shouldn’t be able to live a free life and get married and do what they want. I reckon homophobia is just plain pathetic. Gok, never stop being proud of who you are!
So why did he call Breasts bangers , i hate his pommy accent
Don’t worry, Profit requires not one person be upset. Target said they would stand by him but now it has all died down they will decide to get rid of him, quietly, he is almost gone.
Tristan,I’d like to agree with your comment that Target is sticking by Gok but over the last couple of weeks I’ve clearly noticed that “Ah Ah Gok” has disappeared completely from any Target Commercials after the complaints from the General Public and he has been replaced with another payed actor,why is this? And why no comment from Target in the Press about this?
Thanks
And in Africa another 25,000 starving children died today. Who’s complaining about that?
What would straight people have to complain about if they didn’t have us gays? Oh wait a minute forget I asked, they whinge about everything cos they are MISERABLE.
As a gay man I’m naturally attracted to straight-acting Gay Men,not camp flamboyant gay men like Gok or even worse Richard Reid (Separated at birth from Jeannie Little).
If you ever venture into gay meeting websites you quickly discover and learn no gay man is “desperaratly” seeking Gok/Reid flamboyant types…
Thanks.
@steve You’re just a bit homophobic yourself. :/
If you think that being flamboyant is somehow a negative thing, then you are only helping perpetuate the negativity.
And btw, ‘straight acting’ gay men? Why would someone act straight if they are gay? What about just, I dunno…being yourself?
Michael I’m not homophobic,I’m just not attracted to Mincers,like 99.9% of gay men who won’t be found with in 5kms of a screaming queen,screaming for attention,and not always positively especially in the burbs,unless their faster runners then Kathy Freeman.
Michael straightacting gay men are gay men who don’t shave their legs or wax their eye-brows and do all the hand gestures and poses,and carry on like a drag queen from the defunct Albury Hotel,daaaaarling.
Sure they can be the nicest people,but they’ll be the lonelinest.
Thanks
I’m with you Steve – this GOK guy gives us a bad representation.. he drives me insane when I see him come on – almost makes me want to not shop at Target and I am a proud Gay man.
Bwahahahaah, Mr Goc, Im sure, Is used to the middle class white Australian……
I personally, Love That Mr Gok, Knows the difference between Target and Tarjai…..
Keep treading the Runway………. (Heart)
I’m Unsurprised what people will complain about and when it comes to the topic of homophobia there’s plenty people have yet to say about it. I’m extremely impressed and surprised with Targets stance on sticking by its advertisement. This is one example of many that will come that were moving on from homophobia.