Love doesn’t care about gender, where you’re from, or what others may think”
So McCain has this brand new advert as part of its Here's To Love campaign. Now I realise it's an ad for a leading brand of oven chips, but it's also really heart-warming and way more inclusive than most Hollywood blockbusters.
The 60-second clip shows eight real life couples in a touching tapestry of modern family life and all the diversity that includes. There are different sexualities, age differences, disabilities and an absolutely gorgeous mixed race relationship.
The chip-inspired love-in begins with lesbian couple, Kimberley and Molly, sharing a tender kiss.
The voiceover then poses a pertinent question:
“When it comes to love, what’s normal? Normal isn’t normal. Love doesn’t care about gender, where you’re from, or what others may think. It won’t judge on ability, or so-called disability.”
Take a look at this really-quite-lovely ad for yourself:
This new McCain campaign comes just months after a gay couple, who appeared in last year's We Are Family ad, was viciously targeted by homophobic trolls. Lee and Mat were on the receiving end of the vile abuse after sharing the screen with their young son Carter.
Lee told The Daily Record:
“One of the most hurtful compared us to perverts, saying ‘Whatever next, society accepting paedophiles?’ We are shocked this kind of attitude exists in the 21st century. We’re proud of our little family and we have nothing to be ashamed of.”
Despite the homophobic haters, there were plenty of viewers who applauded the ad for its warmth and diversity.
It’s super encouraging to see that the negative reactions haven’t stopped McCain from continuing to include LGBT+ couples in their campaigns. Popping up in telly ads is a simple but stealth way for our relationships and identities to become more normalised, hopefully leading to greater acceptance for all kinds of people and families.
It's also clearly a highly effective marketing strategy because now all I can think about is a chip butty.
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