Campbell's is the latest brand to bring real-life families to their ad campaigns, with a new Star Wars-themed ad featuring gay dads Larry Sullivan and David Monahan and their son Cooper.
Sullivan and Monahan may look familiar to Towleroad readers. They were featured recently as a couple in a Sabra Hummus ad we reported on in May. As we explained then, Sullivan and Monahan are both actors (you might recognize Sullivan from his roles on Modern Family, CSI, or Will & Grace and Monahan from Crossing Jordan or – way back – Dawson's Creek, though both have appeared in dozens of roles in TV and film).
Ad Age reports on the new campaign:
“Our goal was to sort of take what Campbell's has always been about and convey it in a fresher way,” [Yin Woon Rani, Campbell's VP-marketing activation] said of the 146-year old brand. “We want people to understand what we're about but also give us a fresh look at the same time.”
…It was only set to be only a 15-second spot until shooting began. “We use this phrase internally of this notion of ‘moment telling.' We wanted to tell just very simple, telegraphic stories that didn't always need the space of a :30,” Ms. Rani said. “It was sort of a lucky extra because that story just ended up being so rich and so endearing.”
RELATED: Sabra Features Real-Life Gay Married Couple in its New Hummus Ad: WATCH
The campaign carries the tagline “Made for Real, Real Life.”
Watch the spot:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=28&v=7rZOMY2sOnE
Here's another spot featuring many of the families depicted in the campaign, including Sullivan and Monahan's:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=52&v=LryL8AcQxM0
Other mainstream brands that have recently featured real-life gay couples and/or gay-themed advertising include Wells Fargo, which featured a real-life lesbian couple hoping to adopt a deaf girl, Tide, which ran a gay-themed ad in Canada, and of course Honey Maid.