LGBTQIA Advertising

Contributor: CrazyWolfChick CrazyWolfChick
As we all know, June is Pride Month, and therefore is a big deal amongst the LGBTQIA communities. With this in mind, I feel it's high time that Eden use some non-straight couples in their advertising on the website. I do love shopping and reviewing on here, and so does my partner, but we both find it a little disheartening to come on here every day and be confronted with heteronormative advertising. I'm not asking for much, but wouldn't it be nice to see some gay or lesbian couples floating around the site? Or even some transgender or intersex people? Sex isn't just for straight people, you know!
06/12/2013
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Contributor: Lildrummrgurl7 Lildrummrgurl7
There have been a few non-straight couples used in advertisements here but they're few and far between. With such a large LGBTQ community here on Eden, I'm surprised there aren't more. I'd love to see more!

Quick question though. Without showing genitalia, how would the ad viewer know a person was trans* or intersex? Eden's ads don't show any genitals.
06/12/2013
Contributor: evanescentowl evanescentowl
I agree! I'm not sure how the advertising here works. Do you mean just on the products or for general Edenfantasy's adverts? I'm not sure they have much control over the models for the products specifically.
06/13/2013
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
Well for those who are unaware of how the advertising works, I'll share.

All of our graphics are designed by a team; all of those graphics are then approved for use by the head of marketing (Rufina). But where do the images come from?

They come from stock photos and it's really the "stock image industry" that needs to catch up. The pickings are slim when it comes to anything that isn't hetero-normative in the advertising world.
06/13/2013
Contributor: PropertyOfPotter PropertyOfPotter
Quote:
Originally posted by Ansley
Well for those who are unaware of how the advertising works, I'll share.

All of our graphics are designed by a team; all of those graphics are then approved for use by the head of marketing (Rufina). But where do the images come ... more
I've also noticed this. It's too bad something more can't be done about it.
06/13/2013
Contributor: MrWill MrWill
Quote:
Originally posted by Ansley
Well for those who are unaware of how the advertising works, I'll share.

All of our graphics are designed by a team; all of those graphics are then approved for use by the head of marketing (Rufina). But where do the images come ... more
I know a guy that does photography... ;-) Actually I know a few. lol
06/13/2013
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
Quote:
Originally posted by MrWill
I know a guy that does photography... ;-) Actually I know a few. lol
Ilya is a photographer. He does the majority of our product images if the stock images from the mfg. aren't what he's looking for.
06/13/2013
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
Quote:
Originally posted by PropertyOfPotter
I've also noticed this. It's too bad something more can't be done about it.
Ah, but something can be done! Writing to sites like Shutterstock and demanding they include things like this will help give stores and sites like ours a better range to pick through.
06/13/2013
Contributor: PropertyOfPotter PropertyOfPotter
Quote:
Originally posted by Ansley
Ah, but something can be done! Writing to sites like Shutterstock and demanding they include things like this will help give stores and sites like ours a better range to pick through.
Valid point! I wouldn't have thought of that!
06/13/2013
Contributor: MrWill MrWill
Quote:
Originally posted by Ansley
Ilya is a photographer. He does the majority of our product images if the stock images from the mfg. aren't what he's looking for.
I've noticed in some product shots all he does is photoshop the product out of the wrapper. lol


Specifically, the DJ American Bombshells line (unless those shots were from DJ)


You can look and the highlights on the toy are in the exact same place they are in the packages (I actually overlaid them in photoshop to check, like a nerd)
06/13/2013
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
Quote:
Originally posted by MrWill
I've noticed in some product shots all he does is photoshop the product out of the wrapper. lol


Specifically, the DJ American Bombshells line (unless those shots were from DJ)


You can look and the highlights on the toy are ... more
Um, thanks for the observation?
06/13/2013
Contributor: MrWill MrWill
Quote:
Originally posted by Ansley
Um, thanks for the observation?
I thought it was smart. Work smarter not harder. lol
06/13/2013
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
Quote:
Originally posted by MrWill
I thought it was smart. Work smarter not harder. lol
Hahaha, yeah he's got his hands full with the CS department so you're right it is pretty smart. I actually don't know that much about Photoshop, I work in Corel.
06/13/2013
Contributor: MrWill MrWill
Quote:
Originally posted by Ansley
Hahaha, yeah he's got his hands full with the CS department so you're right it is pretty smart. I actually don't know that much about Photoshop, I work in Corel.
I love Painter, but can't stand Paintshop (It crashes my computer EVERY TIME). I'll quit derailing the thread now. lol
06/13/2013
Contributor: CrazyWolfChick CrazyWolfChick
Quote:
Originally posted by Lildrummrgurl7
There have been a few non-straight couples used in advertisements here but they're few and far between. With such a large LGBTQ community here on Eden, I'm surprised there aren't more. I'd love to see more!

Quick question ... more
Perhaps by showing someone using a binder or a packer? Or even just hiring intersex/trans* models would be nice.
06/13/2013
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
Quote:
Originally posted by CrazyWolfChick
Perhaps by showing someone using a binder or a packer? Or even just hiring intersex/trans* models would be nice.
You make that sound so easy, like there are a ton of people just waiting to be photographed for advertising purposes on an adult retail site. There's so much more to it than that.
06/13/2013
Contributor: CrazyWolfChick CrazyWolfChick
Quote:
Originally posted by Ansley
Well for those who are unaware of how the advertising works, I'll share.

All of our graphics are designed by a team; all of those graphics are then approved for use by the head of marketing (Rufina). But where do the images come ... more
I've seen plenty of homosexual photos on these stock photo websites. I do know how advertising works, so it's always been really strange to me that Eden would focus on the photos they can find easily on these websites. It's really a matter of searching a little bit harder to get a hold of these pictures. Isn't the hard work worth having a happy clientele who feels included in Eden's audience?
06/13/2013
Contributor: Lildrummrgurl7 Lildrummrgurl7
Quote:
Originally posted by CrazyWolfChick
Perhaps by showing someone using a binder or a packer? Or even just hiring intersex/trans* models would be nice.
Good ideas

Eden doesn't carry binders though, do they? I know they've been requested numerous times but I don't recall ever seeing any.
06/13/2013
Contributor: CrazyWolfChick CrazyWolfChick
Quote:
Originally posted by Ansley
You make that sound so easy, like there are a ton of people just waiting to be photographed for advertising purposes on an adult retail site. There's so much more to it than that.
I know plenty of trans* models who would allow themselves to be photographed for that exact reason. That's exactly how simple it is. Please don't be condescending.
06/13/2013
Contributor: CrazyWolfChick CrazyWolfChick
Quote:
Originally posted by Lildrummrgurl7
Good ideas

Eden doesn't carry binders though, do they? I know they've been requested numerous times but I don't recall ever seeing any.
No, I'm afraid that they don't carry binders, which is something I understand. A binder is not a sexual object, so I wouldn't expect Eden to have them. However, I don't imagine it would be hard to get a hold of a model with his own binder.
06/13/2013
Contributor: Airen Wolf Airen Wolf
Quote:
Originally posted by MrWill
I've noticed in some product shots all he does is photoshop the product out of the wrapper. lol


Specifically, the DJ American Bombshells line (unless those shots were from DJ)


You can look and the highlights on the toy are ... more
Actually that is per the advertisers guidelines. lots of manufacturers include stock images and then allow only moderate customization. This allows for uniformity of image.
06/13/2013
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
Quote:
Originally posted by CrazyWolfChick
I know plenty of trans* models who would allow themselves to be photographed for that exact reason. That's exactly how simple it is. Please don't be condescending.
If you would like to photograph models and sell your work to Eden for use in their advertising, please feel free to submit a proposal. You can email Ilya about it. ilya@edenfantasys.com
06/13/2013
Contributor: Airen Wolf Airen Wolf
Quote:
Originally posted by CrazyWolfChick
I've seen plenty of homosexual photos on these stock photo websites. I do know how advertising works, so it's always been really strange to me that Eden would focus on the photos they can find easily on these websites. It's really a ... more
Maybe you could send in a support ticket to Ilya pointing him to some of the pics you are talking about? It could be that he doesn't frequent sites that have these images or doesn't have a pulse on what would be acceptable to our community? It is a touchy subject and has lead to major flaming forums.
06/13/2013
Contributor: CrazyWolfChick CrazyWolfChick
Quote:
Originally posted by Airen Wolf
Maybe you could send in a support ticket to Ilya pointing him to some of the pics you are talking about? It could be that he doesn't frequent sites that have these images or doesn't have a pulse on what would be acceptable to our community? ... more
Why, in a community based on openness, would it be seen as a flaming problem? And in such an incident, wouldn't it be better to be flamed and show support for an oppressed group of people rather than to cower behind hetero normative structures in hopes of making everyone feel happy and normal?
06/13/2013
Contributor: snowminx snowminx
I understand maybe not being able to find too much tran stuff but I just did a simple one search on shuttershock and was able to find a whole bunch of gay parade pictures or you could even just use something more subtle like people with rainbow flags or something.
06/13/2013
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
Quote:
Originally posted by CrazyWolfChick
Why, in a community based on openness, would it be seen as a flaming problem? And in such an incident, wouldn't it be better to be flamed and show support for an oppressed group of people rather than to cower behind hetero normative structures in ... more
I wish. Those conversations in the past have become extremely heated.
06/13/2013
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
Quote:
Originally posted by snowminx
I understand maybe not being able to find too much tran stuff but I just did a simple one search on shuttershock and was able to find a whole bunch of gay parade pictures or you could even just use something more subtle like people with rainbow flags ... more
Have you ever noticed that all of the advertisements on the front page are "themed"? Unless it's Pride Month, a rainbow or pictures of Pride events doesn't exactly tie into a Father's Day promotion.

And our dev team spent quite a bit of time putting this together:

06/13/2013
Contributor: CrazyWolfChick CrazyWolfChick
Quote:
Originally posted by Ansley
I wish. Those conversations in the past have become extremely heated.
So, because the conversations are heated, Eden's going to ignore being inclusive. Of course. That makes sense. After all, the LGBTQIA community is very used to being shoved aside to keep things from being "awkward."
06/13/2013
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
Quote:
Originally posted by CrazyWolfChick
So, because the conversations are heated, Eden's going to ignore being inclusive. Of course. That makes sense. After all, the LGBTQIA community is very used to being shoved aside to keep things from being "awkward."
I really don't appreciate your attitude. You are being just as dismissive as you are accusing our advertising team of being.

I am not in charge of advertising, and please do know that the people who ARE in charge of advertising are fully aware of the non-hetero-normative couples in this world and have used a variety of images in their graphics; it's unfortunate you weren't here when they were being run.
06/13/2013
Contributor: Ilya Ilya
Quote:
Originally posted by MrWill
I've noticed in some product shots all he does is photoshop the product out of the wrapper. lol


Specifically, the DJ American Bombshells line (unless those shots were from DJ)


You can look and the highlights on the toy are ... more
Those come from the manufacturer. I only take pictures of the products EF sells; samples and such get stock images (lingerie also).
We don't do any excessive photoshop here, just minor stuff such as cleaning up the background and in some cases tweaking the color of the toy slightly to reflect reality. After all, product images are for presentation so you know what you're buying, they're not a design element

My apologies for going off topic, just wanted to clarify.
06/14/2013