In a survey of approximately 3,000 responders for Variety, Ellen DeGeneres was rated as the most favored celebrity among gay males, and Lady Gaga was rated as one of the least.
"Of course they like Ellen," you may say, "she's openly gay!"
But it turns out that there's a lot more to it than that. Gay men aren't choosing Ellen as their favorite celebrity simply because she's gay. According to the study, Angelina Jolie, Oprah Winfrey, Sandra Bullock, and Johnny Depp also rank among the most admired, and all of them are or have been known to be entirely heterosexual.
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So what factors into the ranking, if it doesn't seem to have to do with sexual orientation at all?
Probably the same thing that factors into their purchase preferences. Gay males ranked Ellen's CoverGirl campaign the best out of 40 other celebrity advertisement campaigns. The study showed that they preferred endorsements from celebrities that are (or seem) "genuine, honest, trustworthy, intelligent and reliable".
This is important for advertisers, because according to Variety, in 2013 the LGBT adult demographic had a buying power of about $800 billion.
Guess we'll be seeing more of Ellen in upcoming years!
Oh, wait.... I thought Gaga was the one schooling marketers?
Source: Variety
