Expert Journal of Marketing (Feb 2022)
The Effective Paratextual Messages of the Japanese Gay TV Drama Series Ossan’s Love
Abstract
This research focuses on the Japanese gay TV drama series Ossan’s Love (2018) to investigate why the show attracted not only queer audiences, but also heterosexual audiences by analysing its textual periphery through paratexts such as promotional posters, articles and audience reviews. Normally, publicists tend to avoid emphasising a show’s sexual minority themes in the story, considering that such a polemical theme would narrow the target audience. However, publicity for this show clearly indicated a gay theme in its promotional materials, and the show became popular nationwide. From the perspective of social identity theory, it is difficult to explain how such promotional strategies effectively attracted a heterosexual audience. Through paratextual analysis, this research identified the concept of an ‘ideal society’. At first, some people may think the show is a stereotypical comedy that makes fun of gay people, but they eventually recognise that none of the characters laughs at romance between men. It is likely that the show’s such unbiased setting makes both heterosexual and homosexual audiences comfortable, diminishing the line between different sexual orientations.
