Gfn.com, the Gay Financial Network, on
Thursday launched a broad-based advertising campaign that involves
placements in mainstream business and entertainment publications, as well
as in gay- and lesbian-oriented media.
The $6 million campaign, designed by Mad Dogs & Englishmen, shows the
often-uncomfortable way the financial world has reacted to gays and
lesbians, and positions gfn.com as a financial resource that understands.
“The most important thing we wanted to get across with this campaign is
that we are a financial site targeting gay men and women, and not a gay
site with financial content,” says Walter Schubert, founder, chair, and
chief executive officer of gfn.com.
“We also wanted to accentuate our broad and welcoming appeal, as our
extensive news coverage is of the highest journalistic quality and our
financial services are both competitively priced and with name-brand,
top-tier partners.”
The ads debut in The Wall Street
Journal and Entertainment
Weekly, and will then be rolled out nationally in gay and lesbian
publications, including weekly newspapers and magazines like Hero,
OUT, and the Advocate. Ads will also appear in news and
business publications like Time,
Newsweek, US News and World Report, Business Week, Fortune, Money, Mutual Funds, Entrepreneur, Kiplingers, Fortune Small Business,
and The Industry Standard.
A million dollars of online ads will also be placed on gay and financial
Web sites. The Wilson Media
Group handled the media plan.