Cooper Smith and Todd Koch, the gay
couple featured in JCPenney's Father's Day ad, will march in this
weekend's New York City Gay Pride Parade.
The gay dads will be accompanied by
JCPenney employees.
JCPenney included the couple with their
children, Mason and Claire, in a Father's Day ad.
The copy of the ad, titled First
Pals, reads: “What makes Dad so cool? He's the swim coach,
tent maker, best friend, bike fixer and hug giver – all rolled into
one. Or two.”
“When we were asked by JCPenney's
LGBT employee group to be part of their float at NYC Pride, Todd and
I immediately said yes,” Smith said in a statement released by
GLAAD. “Just as they as a company have honored families like ours,
we consider this our way of honoring them and the hundreds of
employees who are planning to take part. We're so proud of JCPenney
for including families like ours in their celebration of parents and
showcasing the diversity of the American experience.”
The group One Million Moms, which is
closely associated with the Christian conservative group American
Family Association (AFA), has previously called on JCPenney to fire
Ellen DeGeneres as their spokesperson because she is openly gay.
The group also condemned the
Father's Day ad featuring Smith and Koch, saying it promotes
“sin.”