Prepare yourself, because a new ad campaign from the marketing wizards at Apple may leave you a sniffling mess.
The four short spots for Apple in Australia briefly capture the weddings and first dances of real same-sex couples. The ads are all set to a Courtney Barnett cover of the INXS hit, “Never Tear Us Apart.”
Like any good first dance, there are are spins …
… grins …
People in the crowd celebrate as the survey result is announced. Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images.
While marriage equality is not the first and last priority for LGBTQ people, normalizing same-sex couples and families is no small thing.
After all, the U.S. has had marriage equality since 2015 and still:
- As many as 1.6 million LGBTQ youth experience homelessness each year.
- And when compared to the rest of the population, transgender adults are four times as likely to have a household income less than $10,000.
- 50% of LGBTQ people in the U.S. live in states that do not have any laws prohibiting employee discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation.
- 1,076 hate crimes based on sexual orientation bias were reported in 2016.
Representation and visibility alone won’t solve these problems.
But seeing and celebrating our similarities and shared humanity is just what we need to gain passionate allies in the fight for equality. This isn’t a battle for special rights or treatment — it’s a simple request for dignity, respect, and economic empowerment.
And if we get one step closer because of films, TV, shows, books, or even a commercial shot on an iPhone, so be it.
Grab the tissue and check out the 60 second ad “First Dance.”