Swedish home furnishing retailer Ikea made worldwide news in 1994 for its U.S. commercial featuring a male couple buying furniture together. The company has returned to its roots with a new spot including another gay pair, this time with a child.

Following a rainbow of families, the black and Asian male couple are joined by their Golden Retriever and daughter, snuggled in domestic bliss. An ending voiceover asks: “Why shouldn’t sofas come in flavors, just like families?”

Ikea spokeswoman Mona Liss says, “Home is the most important place in the world, it’s the place where we grow our families, however we define family. That includes the people you choose to live with, and the friends and pets you choose to bring in.”

…A host of new advertisers have entered the gay market recently. The year-old gay cable channel from MTV Networks, LOGO, has introduced Sears Brands, Sprint Nextel and Bally Total Fitness to gay viewers in the last several months, while viewers of the channel on Time Warner in New York City have also seen Weight Watchers International and Subway restaurants.

A Sears spokeswoman says the company doesn’t comment on its advertising strategies. By contrast, segment market manager at Southwest Airlines Jena Atchison was practically bursting to talk about what her company was up to….

Atchison says, “We didn’t just want to tap into the gay market, we wanted to satisfy them.”