July 11, 2012 | Arts / Entertainment

Marketing 'Magic Mike' to 'mos

Magic Mike is not a queer-centric movie, but that hasn't stopped gay blogs from pushing the film for months, offering half naked pics of the movie's stars Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer and Joe Manganiello, and posting trailers of the same men stripping down to their posing pouches.

“Let’s be honest: it’s men taking their clothes off,” said Bill Venne, who watched Magic Mike with 16 gay friends and one straight woman. “It’s the kind of thing you want to see, but not by yourself. A middle-aged gay guy in the audience might as well be wearing a trench coat.”

The studio behind the movie has been actively marketing Magic Mike to gay men, admitted Sue Kroll, president for worldwide marketing for Warner Brothers Pictures. Gay men were not the studios initial target audience, she explained, but that changed as homosexual fans showed interest in the flick.

“Every single one of my gay friends was talking about how they couldn’t wait to see it and how gorgeous Matt Bomer is,” she said. “It wasn’t like we sat down and said, ‘This was the target.’ But we handled it a bit more specifically and overtly for this movie.”

Warner Brothers even hired the Karpel Group, a marketing agency, to help create buzz both online and at gay bars and clubs. “Hot guys are a big part of the appeal of the movie,” said Craig Karpel, the company’s owner. “It’s something that captures gay men’s attention and imaginations.”

Kroll pointed out that director Steven Soderbergh and Channing Tatum were “100 percent supportive” of the movie’s outreach to gay filmgoers. “A lot of actors who are at this point in their career might hesitate to make this movie,” she said. “They don’t want to mess with the broad appeal they have. But Channing’s taking off his clothes, talking about his past [as a male stripper] and supporting the movie. He’s confident in who he is.”

Here's hoping they release this movie in 3D ...

‘Magic Mike’ Is Big Draw for Gay Men [New York Times]