This Veterans Day, Love Has No Labels Spotlights Powerful Stories of Inclusion Across the Ranks and Branches of the U.S. Military

NEW YORK, Nov. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- In honor of Veterans Day, the Ad Council's Emmy-award-winning diversity and inclusion public service campaign, Love Has No Labels, is launching a video to celebrate all those who serve our country. The video, developed by Jack Morton Worldwide, introduces viewers to veterans and service members from various backgrounds to show the many faces of our military, who represent a wide range of races/ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, genders, ages and abilities.

"This video powerfully demonstrates how veterans and service members from many different backgrounds come together as one to serve our country," said Lisa Sherman, President and CEO of the Ad Council. "We are so proud to recognize the brave men and women of the U.S. Military on Veterans Day and throughout the year."

The goal of the iconic Love Has No Labels campaign is to flood culture with messages of unbiased love, and this video does so by highlighting both veterans' love of country and appreciation for each other. By exposing viewers to different veterans' and service members' stories, viewers are encouraged to walk away with the message that to revere service is to revere all veterans, regardless of their race, gender, sexuality, religion, age or ability.

The veterans and service members featured in the video represent various branches of the military:

• Keith Palmer, a Principal Scientist at Janssen, Pharmaceutical Companies at campaign partner Johnson & Johnson, served as Captain in the U.S. Marine Corps and speaks to the idea that "everyone is green" in the Marines—no matter their identity labels.
• Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) employees Former Captain, U.S. Army Allison Jaslow; Former Captain, U.S. Army Melissa Bryant; and Former Corporal, U.S. Army Cinthya Fana, told their service stories to shed light on the female veteran experience.
• Former Specialist 4, U.S. Army John Klein, a Vietnam War vet, and West Point graduate Former Captain, U.S. Army Myles Melnicoff, share their experiences of camaraderie while serving in the Army.
• The video also features Former Cadet, Army ROTC Keith Nolan, who is deaf, sharing moments of inclusion he experienced while training for the military.  

Josh McCall, Chairman and CEO, Jack Morton Worldwide, which provides social media strategy, execution, and community management for the campaign, stated, "We are very proud of the work we do on behalf of the Ad Council for its Love Has No Labels campaign. It spreads a powerful message that resonates across all audiences. This Veterans Day, as we recognize those who have served our country, we encourage people to watch these deeply personal stories and remember the importance of diversity and inclusion."

The Love Has No Labels campaign, developed by R/GA, first launched following Valentine's Day 2015 with the "Dancing Skeletons" video. The film featured real people in diverse relationships spanning different backgrounds and encouraged viewers to question their assumptions of what constitutes friendship, romantic love and family. Since its launch, the video has been viewed over 160 million times, making it the second most viewed social and community activism video of all time. On Independence Day 2016, Love Has No Labels released another film, "We Are America" in partnership with WWE featuring WWE Superstar John Cena celebrating the diversity of America. On Valentine's Day 2017, Love Has No Labels released another spot, "Fans of Love" which featured real-time moments of inclusion through a jumbotron activation. The film put a twist on the traditional kiss cam by replacing it with an unbiased camera that celebrated all forms of love at the NFL Pro Bowl. In total, all three films have been viewed over 300 million times.

The campaign was developed with support from an advisory board of nonprofit partners, including the Anti-Defamation League, Southern Poverty Law Center, Human Rights Campaign, American Association of People with Disabilities, AARP and Perception Institute. The campaign is also generously supported by brand sponsors, including Johnson & Johnson, PepsiCo, P&G, State Farm®, Unilever, The Coca-Cola Company, Bank of America and Google.

Since the 2015 launch, there have been over 4 million sessions on lovehasnolabels.com, where visitors are offered a quiz to examine their own biases. Additionally, the campaign has seen significant shifts in key attitudes and behaviors with more adults reporting that they believe they can create a more inclusive and accepting environment, according to a recent survey commissioned by the Ad Council and conducted by Ipsos, Public Affairs. To date, the campaign has received over $70 million in donated media.  

To learn more, visit the Love Has No Labels website and join the campaign's social communities on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The Ad Council
The Ad Council brings together the most creative minds in advertising and media to address the most worthy causes. Its innovative, pro bono social good campaigns raise awareness. They inspire action. They save lives. To learn more, visit www.adcouncil.org, follow the Ad Council's communities on Facebook and Twitter, and view the creative on YouTube.

About Jack Morton Worldwide
Jack Morton Worldwide is an award-winning global brand experience agency. We believe brands need extraordinary ideas that create emotional connections, fuel conversations and deliver business results. For more than 75 years, we have brought brands to life through event marketing, promotional marketing, sponsorship marketing, content marketing, digital, social and mobile, and employee engagement. Jack Morton is part of the Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE: IPG). More information is available at www.jackmorton.com or @jackmorton.

SOURCE The Ad Council

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