Two Moms, Deaf Child Star in Emotional New Ad

Wells Fargo bank is attracting attention with an unprecedented new ad, launched Monday, which features an unconventional family: lesbian moms and their soon-to-be adopted school-age daughter, who is deaf.

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The one-minute ad, “Learning Sign Language,” packs a powerful punch. Created by firm BBDO in collaboration with the Wells Fargo marketing team, it’s part of the bank’s new campaign, “Working Together to Make a Difference.” The spot begins by showing two women, one at a time, learning different phrases in sign language — “I’m so proud of you,” “Let’s read a book,” “What’d you learn in school today?” Halfway through, we see that the women live together and are a couple, and it’s not until almost the end when we learn the reason for their lessons: They are on their way to meet a young girl they are adopting, and tell her, “Hello beautiful. We’re going to be your new mommies.”

A voiceover comes in then, saying, “Everyone works hard for a reason. Working together, we can help you prepare financially for when two becomes three.”

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The ad is part of a company-wide effort, notes John Lake, vice president and LGBT segment manager for Wells Fargo. “We develop marketing programs and content that resonates with our customers, reflects our company’s values, and represents the diversity of the communities we serve,” he tells Yahoo Parenting through a publicist. “Our decision to feature a same-sex couple feels very true to our perspective about diversity and inclusion.”

The ad, posted to YouTube on Thursday, already has had more than 55,600 views and attracted much praise through its comments section. It joins what’s been a slow but steady trickle of change-making ads showing LGBT families — including one from Honey Maid a year ago and another from Nikon earlier this year, each featuring two dads.

“Whether we like it or not, advertising is a major form of media in our lives, and when people see themselves reflected, they feel welcome, and part of a larger narrative,” Gabriel Blau, executive director of Family Equality, a national nonprofit supporting LGBT family rights, tells Yahoo Parenting. “It’s about reflecting new family values, and that extends to LGBT youth. When youth see themselves reflected in the world, they feel more secure, and are able to see a future for themselves, whether it’s one they will choose or not.” When Blau first saw the Wells Fargo ad, he says, he was “totally floored,” thrilled not only at the choice to include a lesbian family, but “to make it about adopting a non-newborn, and also a child who is differently abled.”

That’s no small point, adds Family Equality director of public policy Emily Hecht-McGowan.

“What most people don’t realize is that same-sex couples are three times more likely to be raising a foster or adopted child, and are more likely to foster and adopt older youth and kids with special needs, than our heterosexual counterparts,” Hecht-McGowan tells Yahoo Parenting. “Which is why this gorgeous ad from Wells Fargo is even more relevant as we approach the start of National Foster Care Month in May, as it represents the incredible diversity of the modern American family. The ad captures all of the excitement, anticipation, joy and fear that comes with bringing a new child into your family. And while it happens to feature a lesbian couple, these are feelings and emotions that will resonate with all parents, regardless of their sexual orientation or family composition.”