A good American ad

I've shared ads from overseas retailers, so how about one from the USA? The ad above, “Celebrate Togetherness”, is from US department store chain Kohl’s, and it’s quite good. This ad also celebrates diversity, since it includes a gay male couple and mixed-race couples. But the real point, as the YouTube description puts it: “The best part of the holidays? Being together with family and friends of course!” And it is.

The gay couple is featured in the family tree at the very first shot (and, yes, I paused it so I could check; all part of the service I provide…), as well as later in the ad, together and separately. Very matter-of-fact, as it should be. And yet, we all just know that once One Dozen Moms finds out about this they’ll go apeshit, declare the imminent collapse of Western Civilisation, and then launch their 3,874,392nd boycott—it's what they do, and who they are.

The song in the background—as at least one of my friends already knows—is “All Together Now”, originally a Beatles song recorded in 1967, but not released until the Yellow Submarine soundtrack in 1969 (and even later as a single). The version in the ad is a bit more pop, a bit less skiffle, and maybe even a little sweeter than the original. In any case, the song reinforces the theme Kohl’s is using this year, as is their hashtag, #AllTogetherNow.

Kohl’s is the USA’s second-largest department store chain by retail sales, after Macy’s. They entered the Chicago-area in 1988 when they bought out the MainStreet chain from Macy’s when their vulture capital owners wanted to reduce debt. I don’t remember MainStreet, probably because it existed for only around five years, and because I was living in the city at the time and the stores were out in the suburbs. I’m pretty sure I was in a Kohl’s before I left the USA, though.

In any case, after a lot of bad stuff in the news lately, it’s good to take a break. I’m a fan of good advertising, of course, and also celebrations of diversity, all of which are good enough reasons for me to share this.