Chevrolet debuted two ads which feature
gay couples during Friday's broadcast of the opening ceremonies of
the Winter Olympics in Sochi.
GLAAD said the ads were the first to
include gay couples during an Olympic broadcast.
While Chevy, which is owned by General
Motors, said in a statement that the ads “are not intended as any
political commentary,” they come as criticism over a Russian law
that prohibits the promotion of “gay propaganda” heats up.
“Actions speak louder than words,”
Allen Adamson, managing director of the New York office of Landor
Associates, told the AP. “The action of putting a spot on the
Olympics is far more powerful than a press release. It's a very
clear statement of what they believe Chevy stands for.”
One ad includes a shot of a male gay
couple getting married, while the other features two gay dads with
their son and daughter.
“While what it means to be a family
hasn't changed, what a family looks like has,” a male announcer
says in the ad titled The New Us for the Chevy Traverse
crossover SUV. “This is the new us.” (The video is embedded on
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our video library for more videos.)