In the same month that Massachusetts’
Governor, Charlie Baker, signed into a law a ground-breaking initiative that
guarantees a
cut of state contracts go to LGBT-owned businesses, a locally headquartered
insurance company has produced what may be one of the most moving commercials
yet exploring same-sex marriage.
With a history stretching back to 1851,
MassMutual now has 1,800 offices and 13 million clients around the world. It
clearly understands the importance of embracing diversity and inclusion, as
exemplified by ‘Vow to Protect’, a new digital campaign produced by ad agency
Mullen Lowe.
The campaign consists of videos in which
couples being are asked their thoughts on the importance of marriage, this
year’s decision by the US Supreme Court on same-same marriage, and the steps
they can take to protect their futures.
‘At MassMutual, we value diversity and
inclusion and we are committed to helping all of our customers secure their
futures and protect the ones they love, regardless of color, gender, religion
or sexual orientation,’ said John Chandler, Senior Vice President and Chief
Marketing Officer at MassMutual, in a statement.
‘The ‘Vow to Protect’ campaign is just
one symbol of MassMutual’s commitment to support, and be a resource for,
members of the LGBT community.’
‘We knew the couples and their stories
needed to be front and center,’ Mullen Lowe group creative director John
Wolfarth told Ad
Week.
‘Every couple showed us this was an
issue they’d clearly been thinking about for a lifetime,’ says Wolfarth. ‘And
they delivered more insightful content and soundbites than we could hope for –
from a childhood story about growing up in an observant Muslim family, to
ongoing workplace discrimination, to wedding planning scams.’
MassMutual’s support for LGBTI rights
is not new. In 2011, it was among the first companies to sign an amicus brief
in opposition to the Defense of Marriage Act. It also scored the top mark of
100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s most recent Corporate Equality Index.
The first film to be released as part
of the campaign features couple that have been together for varying lengths of
time, between three and 30 years. They talk about how they proposed to one
another, what marriage means to them, and why the legalization of marriage is
so important.
‘I love this man. I don’t need anyone
else but him, and I want to be legally bound to that contract,’ says one man
about his husband.
‘I always feel secure, safe,
comfortable and loved with her. Always. She’s my comfort zone,’ says one woman
of her wife.
‘It need to be the word marriage,
because words matter,’ says another man. ‘My mom would say to me “Don’t call
him your husband; he’s your partner.” And I’m like, “He’s my husband.”’
Watch the video below:
Great idea and an inspiring campaign! Thank you, my naked buddy, for posting this! Much love and many naked hugs!
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