Iconic sunglasses manufacturer Ray-Ban
has released an ad featuring a gay male couple holding hands under
the tagline “Never Hide.”
The campaign, part of the company's
75th anniversary celebration, was released earlier this
week.
In the ad, the men hold hands as they
walk in the middle of a bustling 1940s metropolis and passersby look
on disapprovingly.
“Nobody wants fake or temporary,”
the company said, referring to the campaign. “Real trendsetters,
real opinion leaders, real individuals believe the most fashionable
thing you can be is yourself; to be authentic, real, bold and
stylish. So to reclaim its rightful place as a legitimate leader in
sunglasses, Ray-Ban has to only speak and act like their maverick
selves. Never pretend. Never be afraid. Never give up. Never
Hide.”
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the
nation's largest gay rights advocate, praised the ad in a blog post.
“Even in today's world where there
are still many places where two men holding hands garners stares,
this ad calls for LGBT people to never hide their love or their true
identity.”