Ad spending booming for gay-oriented sites.

This article focuses on the viability of the Internet as an advertising medium to reach the gay market. Sites such as Gay.com, Gay.Net and onQ are fielding a slew of advertisers trying to reach gay men and lesbians and showing the power of the Web to reach niche markets. Gays are twice as likely as the general population to have a household income between 60,000 and 250,000 dollars according to Simmons Research. PlanetOut is another Web site launching gay-targeted advertisements. PlanetOut has its share of mass marketers. Other PlanetOut advertisers include video and DVD site Reel.com which shows two women together in its banner and Barnes & Noble's BN.com, which runs banners that send visitors to the gay and lesbian area on its site. Gay sites allow marketers to reach a large audience of gay men and women, including many would not be comfortable having gay magazines such as The Advocate or Out delivered to their mailboxes.