This week, Tylenol debuted the #HowWeFamily campaign, featuring an advertisement that celebrates the love shared by all kinds of families. The 30-second ad features African-American, lesbian, gay, biracial, and single parent families, all in an effort to dispel fears around difference, spark coversations about acceptance, and help people truly understand diversity.
The heart of Tylenol's message is that despite different family backgrounds, these families all share love and familial pride. Director of the #HowWeFamily video Dustin Lance Black explained, "At the end of the day, no matter the gender of the parents, the color of the family's skin, the religion that they come from...all of these families have the same concerns. They want what's best for their kid; they want to care for each other and create a home that's safe and happy. All these homes are built on love."
Tylenol's advertisement will begin to air on television next week. But that's not the end of their efforts to expand America's definition of family. Over the next three months, Tylenol will debut 10 videos profiling real American families, one of which tells the story of two moms whose love helped them through a difficult journey and another on a Nigerian immigrant family. In addition, the program will soon post results from their national survey on families, and in September, they will release a short documentary on the changing nature of families.
“Visibility is the root of acceptance,” said GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “As more Americans meet LGBT people, they come to see that love is what makes a family. By introducing millions of viewers to loving LGBT families, Tylenol is accelerating acceptance and sending a powerful message of inclusion.”
Aside from the #HowWeFamily program, Tylenol has always been a strong supporter of the LGBT community. Last December, as part of their "For What Matters Most" campaign, the company posted an advertisement inspired by Normal Rockwell's 1943 painting "Freedom From Want." The ad features Japanese, African-American, and lesbian families in order to show that today's definition of family is expanding beyond the traditional white, heterosexual family depicted in the painting.
"For 60 years we've been serving all families, and we want to continue to serve them for the next 60," said Manoj Raghunandanan, senior director of marketing of Johnson & Johnson's McNeil Consumer Healthcare. "And the reality that we know today is that families look and feel different than they did before, and we want to celebrate that fact. Because we're a family brand, because we're an iconic American brand, and we want to continue to serve families into the future, I think it's important that we reflect what that family is today."
Visit http://www.howwefamily.com/ for more stories of diverse American families, and watch the full video below: