HBS Working Knowledge - How Advertising Depicts Gays and Lesbians:
"Companies that have repeatedly incorporated LGBT themes into mainstream ads include Viacom (particularly MTV), Unilever, IKEA, and Levi Strauss, among others. During the 1997 'coming out' episode for the television show 'Ellen,' Volkswagen ran a commercial that showed two men driving silently down the road. They stop, pick up an armchair they see on the sidewalk, then stop again to drop it off when they realize it smells bad. Volkswagen said that they didn't intend for the couple to be gay—but that it was okay if viewers thought that was the case. 'In 1997, no company had ever said that,' said Wilke, who described the commercial as 'gay vague.'"
