With growing awareness that not all romantic relationships are between a man and a woman, one cultural tradition has remained stuck in the past in this regard: the "kiss cams" that capture people on the bleachers at sports games. But the National Football League is changing that.
The NFL showcased its first same-sex couple in a kiss cam last year. And in an ad for Love Has No Labels, a campaign created in partnership with the Ad Council and R/GA, it announced its efforts to zoom in on a greater variety of people.
The uplifting video shows a gay couple, someone in a wheelchair, best friends, and a mixed-race couple broadcast over the field at a January Orlando Pro Bowl game. One woman in it is a survivor of the Orlando shooting.
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"Kiss cams have been a part of sports culture for years," text at the beginning reads. "At the 2017 NFL Pro Bowl in Orlando,, they became a part of something bigger." In the end, the couples share messages celebrating diversity and inclusion, like "our friendship has no religion" and "our love is greater than anyone's hate."
“The message is not political, it’s apolitical,” R/GA executive creative director Eric Jannon told The Wall Street Journal. "We’ll keep embracing diversity regardless of what’s going on in the White House."