A hallmark of LGBT marketing from Guinness

The commercial above, "Mess," was produced in the United Kingdom for Guinness. Filmed in 1994 in black and white, it features a good-looking man getting ready for work while leaving a “mess” as he moves through his morning routine. Tammy Wynette’s song, “Stand by Your Man,” provides its soundtrack with a wink. Although somewhat entrenched in the contrasts of a heterosexual binary (masculine/feminine), the commercial nevertheless stands as groundbreaking work in gay advertising.

It’s too bad Guinness was never brave enough to air this commercial. At least we can thank the rise of online video to help LGBT people share and archive our media history. For more ads like this, check out what used to be the Commercial Closet, now run by Gays and Lesbians Allied Against Defamation (GLAAD) as its advertising media program, at CommercialCloset.org.