In an apparent bid to show its commitment to supporting marriage equality, Target has unveiled a new ad featuring two gay dads.
The commercial for Target’s “Made to Matter” product line was posted to YouTube Sept. 13 and at one point shows a gay couple painting with a child. The spot's release comes on the heels of several anti-gay groups' boycott of the chain after the company signed an amicus brief in support of marriage equality last month.
A Target spokeswoman told The Huffington Post the new ad campaign "represents and celebrates" the company's diverse community.
"Target is committed to diversity and inclusion in every aspect of our business, including our marketing efforts," the rep said. "The casting of this couple and their son is in line with previous marketing that Target has created including our wedding registry ad campaigns that have been running for the past several years."
Responses to the video have been overwhelming positive on YouTube so far. One user thanked the company for publicly showing support for gay rights.
"Thank you, Target, for standing against the sinful anti-gay lobby who seek to redefine discrimination as a 'sincerely held religious belief.' Despite their efforts to redefine traditional values such as equality, family and love into something ugly and sinister, we know that most Americans reject their evil agenda! God bless you for standing up for what is right, good and American!" user scheis123 said in a comment below the video.
In August, Matt Barber, vice president of anti-same-sex marriage group Liberty Counsel Action, said Target's decision to sign the amicus brief -- which federally challenged Wisconsin and Indiana's same-sex marriage bans -- was a “slap in the face to millions of pro-family customers," OneNewsNow wrote.
The National Organization for Marriage similarly joined in on the haterade.
In a blog post published Aug. 5, Jodee Kozlak, Target's executive vice president of human resources, spoke out about the company's stance on the issue.
“It is our belief that everyone should be treated equally under the law, and that includes rights we believe individuals should have related to marriage,” she said. "We believe that everyone – all of our team members and our guests – deserve to be treated equally. And at Target we are proud to support the LGBT community."
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