Saatchi & Saatchi Agency | Girlfriend / 2005 [commercial advertisement]

his approval

by Douglas Messerli

 

Saatchi & Saatchi Agency (screenplay and direction) Girlfriend / 2005 [30 seconds] [commercial advertisement]

 

In one of the first advertisements of car manufacturers to feature a lesbian couple on TV, Toyota Corolla Canada presented a brief father and daughter discussion as they sit waiting on the porch for the daughter’s new date.

    “Mother tells me you think you’re in love.” says the father.

    “Yep,” his daughter firmly answers.

     “Is he just like all the others?

     For a very brief second, his daughter pauses before replying with a slight smile, “Nope.”

     In the next instant, a Toyota Corolla drives up, the driver remaining unseen by the camera.

     But the father immediately satisfied. “I like him.” He gets up and walks inside, his approval being all she could hope for.

     The daughter walks to the car and gets in, kissing her lesbian lover.

     A single like of text reads: “One thing you can count on.”

    Some didn’t like the mistaken pronoun, and even wondered whether the ad was hinting that you could trust your Toyota more than your father. But any solid-headed viewer recognizes that the father was approving of his daughter’s choice of a companion, if only because she had the sense to buy a Corolla. Perhaps he can’t see the driver either. Or perhaps it doesn’t really matter; such a smart driver can take his daughter anywhere she wants, even if she is another woman. All he cares about is her safety and the driver’s careful choice of the right car.

    

Los Angeles, January 2, 2026

Reprinted from My Queer Cinema blog (January 2026).