Ford Unveiled a 'Very Gay' Truck in Response to Homophobic Commenter
While the practice is, luckily, becoming more and more a thing of the past, there are sadly still people out there who will use the term "gay" as a pejorative. That kind of casual, everyday homophobia is less socially acceptable than it used to be—in part due to the fact that now people are more inclined to call it out when they see or hear it. And that includes car manufacturer Ford.
The European division of the auto giant recently released a commercial advertising the new special edition Ford Ranger Raptor, showcasing the vehicle's qualities in a Western-inspired video entitled The Good, the Bad and the Bad-R.S.E. (a slightly clumsy pun which plays on a British pronunciation of "badass"). Response to the ad was largely positive, and the majority of commenters appeared to be impressed with the new Raptor. One commenter from Germany, however, described the choice of blue color as "very gay."
There is an argument to be made that when faced with such an immature, regressive comment, you should simply ignore it, so as to deny that individual of the attention they are trying to get. The marketing team at Ford adopted a slightly different approach, and instead took the comment as a challenge: What would a "very gay" version of their truck look like?
"Our latest Raptor reveal has had a lot of attention," Ford stated on social media. "But one comment stopped us in our tracks."
Enter the #VeryGayRaptor: a sparkly gold Ranger decked out in the colors of the rainbow flag. The truck was originally only created as a digital response, but it proved so popular that a real life version was then made in time to partake in Pride celebrations in Cologne, Germany.
‘Very Gay’ was a compliment, right? ??? #VeryGayRaptor pic.twitter.com/vOYJfwHANH
— Ford Europe (@FordEu) June 25, 2021
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