Most Americans had never heard of Jason Collins before Monday. Even the large majority of NBA fans wouldn’t have immediately placed him, even though he’s played on six teams over the course of 12 seasons. Now he’s going down in the history books as the first active male athlete on a major US sports team to reveal he's gay.

After breaking the news on the cover of Sports Illustrated, the social web lit up with support for the Washington Wizards center, who said he first contemplated coming out during the 2011 lockout, and then was further motivated by the Boston Marathon bombings.

Thankfully, the sporting community and the world in general have changed a lot in recent years, as those that have come before Collins—like the NBA's John Amaechi and tennis legend's Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King—faced harsh criticism from peers and big financial losses from sponsors.

But as for Collins, his announcement will likely be followed up by a multitude of endorsement deals from top brands and maybe even a new contract for next season.Continue reading...

Making history this week, President Obama finally declared his support of same-sex marriage, the first such declaration by a U.S. president. Now it's time for brands to step up and get over any aversion to showing same-sex couples in their campaigns.

Case in point: Gap’s new billboard featuring a real-life same-sex couple — Tony nominee Rory O'Malley and his boyfriend Gerold Schroeder — helps bridges the gap a little bit more between mainstream advertising and homophobic prejudice.

Featured prominently on a Los Angeles corner, the ad is part of Gap’s "Be Bright" campaign and the handsome couple are certainly a significant step in the brand’s efforts to reinvigorate lackluster sales and enlarge its customer embrace.

JCPenney, under its new "Fair and Square" tagline, continues to fight the good fight, too, facing down conservative pressure groups like One Million Moms by choosing openly gay Ellen DeGeneres as a spokesperson and recently featuring a lesbian couple and their daughter on their Mother's Day catalog.Continue reading...

Mr. Sub should have talked to Snickers. He might have learned: if your brand is not directly tied to or targeting the gay community, it's best to avoid gay jokes in your advertising.

Instead, the Canadian sandwich restaurant brand got a tough lesson. To highlight Mr. Sub's reliability -- "not everyone likes surprises" -- they ran an ad in which a father cheerfully informs his wife and numerous small children that he's "super, super gay."Continue reading...