Ad Council’s ‘Fans Of Love’ Celebrates Diversity & Inclusion On The NFL Pro Bowl Kiss Cam

Following in the footsteps of its award winning Valentine’s Day campaign in 2015, the Ad Council continue its commercial series celebrating inclusiveness and diversity by unveiled a new 14 February ‘Fans Of Love – Love Has No Labels’ spot which was filmed at the NFL Pro Bowl.

The Ad Council (a US non-profit that produces, distributes, and promotes public service announcements on behalf of various sponsors, non-profits, non-governmental organizations and agencies of the United States government) rolls out a new two-minute and 40-second video is inspired by the longstanding American sporting tradition of the Kiss Cam.

Traditionally during breaks in the action, the in-stadium Jumbotron at US sports events turns its focus on random couples in the crowd and puts them on the big screen Kiss Cam: encouraging the (often embarrassed) pair to kiss in return for a cheer from the crowd.

But this campaign’s twist is that the Kiss Cam at the NFL Pro Bowl was used as a ‘symbol for unbiased love’ and thus focused on featuring all forms of love: friendships, families and romantic relationships across race, religion, gender, sexuality, ability and age.

The stunt kicks-off with a touch of staged misdirection.

The first couple captured in the Kiss Cam’s heart shaped lense are a man and a woman: but the man actually turns to his other side and kisses his actual partner who also happens to be a man – to cheers from the crowd.

The video then continues in similar fashion: featuring all sorts of people and relationships kissing to celebrate diversity and promote inclusion.

The spot, launched on Valentine’s Day, and its supporting content pieces urge viewers to ‘Show the world you’re a Fan of Love by submitting a photo in our Faces of Love tool’ at http://lovehasnolabels.com/faces-of-love.

The campaign assets urge people to ‘rethink bias’ and visit the digital hub at www.lovehasnolabels.com and the site includes a range of features from a quiz aimed at helping people explore their own biases and tools and resources on how to take action to change those biases.

‘”Fans of Love” is the next powerful and timely part of our ongoing ‘Love Has No Labels’ campaign,’ explains R/GA vice chairman and global chief creative officer Nick Law.

‘Set at a great American event, the Pro Bowl, it’s a reminder that diversity and acceptance is America at its best. Our agency is proud to be involved in continuing this important message.’

‘The NFL is strongly committed to diversity and inclusion. We are proud to be working with the Ad Council on their Love Has No Labels campaign,’ adds NFL SVP of social responsibility Anna Isaacson.

Activative Comment:

By setting the campaign at the NFL Pro Bowl, the aim is to use a seemingly unlikely and traditionally macho sports setting emphasize that the initiative is rooted USA values and to drive home a message of inclusion and acceptance in American at a time when those values seem to be under attack.

This campaign also shows the NFL’s own commitment to uphold those same values and it came a week after so many Super Bowl spots took value-led, political positions (see case study)

and at which the league itself also aired a spot (by Grey New York) encouraging Americans to find common ground amidst the political divide.

The campaign follows on from the Ad Council’s original ‘Love has No Skeletons’ campaign – which was launched on Valentine’s Day in 2015 and won an Emmy.