Volkswagen’s Super Bowl advert features lesbian wedding
Volkswagen’s Super Bowl ad featured some cute lesbian represenation. (Volkswagen)
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and his girlfriend Taylor Swift may be the ones who made 2024 Super Bowl headlines, but the commercial breaks also featured notable moments – including a lesbian romance in an advert from car manufacturer Volkswagen.
GLAAD’s Visibility Project, launched in May 2021 with Procter & Gamble, aims to increase LGBTQ inclusion in advertising, and, during this year’s Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas – reportedly watched by an average of more than 123 million people – there were eight ads featuring LGBTQ+ people.
Hellmann’s Mayonnaise’s spot included Saturday Night Live‘s Kate McKinnon, while and homes.com included Schitt’s Creek‘s Dan Levy in its commercial, but it was Volkswagen’s which included explicit LGBTQ+ storytelling.
The ad, titled An American Love Story, followed the history of the car manufacturer through the years, featuring couples and families with their vehicles.
As the windscreen wipers cleared confetti from the window of one car, two women, wearing all-white and surrounded by family and friends, got in and shared a kiss.
A 30-second slot during what is often referred to as the biggest annual sporting event in the world, cost, on average, $7 million (£5.5 million), and GLAAD commended Volkswagen for featuring overt affection and support for marriage equality.
Other Super Bowl ads featuring LGBTQ+ people or themes came from cosmetics brands e.l.f. and NYX, drinks firms Mountain Dew and Starry, and Paramount+.
Focusing on LGBTQ+ representation in Super Bowl ads, GLAAD reported four in 2023, which doubled this year, and noted the increase in visibility for bisexual and queer women. However, there is still room for improvement, with the organisation pointing out that the representation was predominantly white, while there was no visibility for transgender and non-binary people.
GLAAD president and chief executive Sarah Kate Ellis said: “While the NFL proudly states football is for everyone, advertisers this year did not reflect that reality during commercial breaks.
“Brands like Volkswagen, that move beyond merely featuring an LGBTQ celebrity, and brands featuring intersectional representation of LGBTQ people as well as other diverse communities, will win out in the long run.
“Over one in five members of Gen Z are LGBTQ and more than half are self-described allies. Super Bowl advertisers are missing out on a major opportunity to attract the next generation of employees and consumers.”
Kansas City Chiefs – backed by singer Swift – beat the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime to seal their second consecutive Super Bowl victory.
