(Photo Credits: Screengrab from Etsy’s Official YouTube Account)
Christmas seems to have come early this year, guys! There’s no denying we could all use a little cheer thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic which is why people across the world are buying gifts, Christmas trees, and putting up festive decorations a little early this 2020.
We’ve also seen a slew of Christmas movies already, some of which are LGBTQ-themed and then there are the Christmas adverts.
Speaking of advertisements, we love this one from Etsy (video shown below) because of the simplicity of the story; it’s very realistic and relatable, too! Not to mention the ending that’s bound to make viewers emotional.
The commercial starts with Brandon and David, a Black gay couple who has gone home to spend Christmas with family.
Meeting one’s boyfriend’s family for the first time is already awkward enough; add the Christmas party to the mix plus the many people around you—all of them strangers except for one. It was clear the anxiety of the partner being introduced is at an all-time high but his boyfriend reassures him before they were ushered into the house, telling him, “Don’t worry, they’re going to love you.”
Once inside the house, the family is seen exchanging gifts and sharing a meal and as the new guy, he was looking very much out of place as all he could do is stare and smile awkwardly.
After eating, the group settles down in the living room to cap off the celebration and the unexpected happened. One of the older guys, presumably his boyfriend’s dad or just one of the relatives really, approached him and handed him a gift, saying, “We didn’t forget about you. Welcome to the family.”
The gift was a personalized Christmas ornament with the couple’s faces and names in it; the couple is then seen placing it on the Christmas tree alongside similar handmaid pieces.
This #Etsy advertisement. FOR THE WIN! I had a little tear in my eye, when I saw it! 🌈 pic.twitter.com/4dsDyvOzrD
— Elaine Warren (@ElaineCatherine) November 15, 2020
I liked this the first and second time I watched it. It was the third time that broke me and now I’m just sobbing. https://t.co/IS00coL3yk
— Karen VanHouten (@designinginward) November 6, 2020
@Etsy shouldn’t be airing holiday family get together advertisements. No matter how heartwarming, they set a dangerous COVID example to viewers.
— Jeff (@BeastQuake) November 10, 2020
The Etsy advertisement titled New Guy is part of their “Gift Like You Mean It” campaign to “find the perfect gifts for every member of the family – even the new ones.” It earned praises online. User Josiah S. on YouTube for example, had said on the video’s comments section:
“Thank you so much for this, Etsy. This is the first time that I, a Black gay male, get to see myself presented in such an accurate light. I am so touched and will be making an account on Etsy and I will use it generously! ❤”
On the other hand, another YouTube user named Sandra commented, “Out of all the pain and hurt that we all have gone through in this year of 2020, this commercial truly put a smile on my face and love in my heart. Thanks Etsy.”
Having said all that, what’s your “meet the parents” story, guys? Like in New Guy, did it happen on Christmas, too? Share with us your thoughts and stories in the comments section below!
Happy viewing!
That sure as hell isn’t Christmas in 2020. No masks, no social distancing and probably no one took a covid test 2 weeks before, then quarantined for 2 weeks and got tested again.
it’s an ad…………
GREAT, make me cry
My “meet the family” moment was a little similar to the Etsy ad. My now-husband took me to his Grandmother’s 80th birthday party, which turned out to be the ENTIRE extended family, his Mother, grandparents, all of his aunts and all of his cousins. A surprise event came when he saw someone then pulled me into the bathroom to prepare me. His ex-wife had decided to come with their then 4-year-old daughter. I have never been more petrified in any social setting. Did I mention the part was in the basement of the Catholic church where his grandmother used to… Read more »
Aww… Such a sweet advert from Etsy. In a time of turmoil and uncertainties, this is just what we need! X
Very touching loved it.
LOVE this commercial!!…lord knows I have been in this situation a couple times in life…;-))
Very well done…heartwarming.
Truly…
after watching the Esty Ad…I had to reach, once again, for my trusted box of perfumed, Kleenex Tissues!
My tears flowwed like the proverbial Niagra Falls and I had to retire to my Californian-Sized Bed for salvation and restitution!
Good Lord, I am robust and vigorious…or, I would have perished by sheer grief and sorrow!
It’s a nice ad normalizing normal people who unlike others have all to often been marginalized by stereotype bigotry.
Maybe it’s just me, but until as a society we start to only see Brandon and David and not the black gay couple we are stuck in the ruts of stupidity. We didn’t see comments of ” did you see the ad featuring Brandon and David the white gay couple”, we seriously need to get unstuck on race.
I disagree. I think seeing black, asians, Indians, gays, trans, and other marginalized people on ads, opens up the discussion about equality. It also shows the viewers that these people are normal people, since they are on TV in a great commercial. But most of all, it tells younger folks, that it’s normal that their skin is a certain color, or that they can love a person of the same sex as theirs, because it is shown on National television.
I think its a refreshing ad and has nothing to do with race. We been fighting for over 400 years trying to get society to look at Brandon and David as just Brandon and David. Then here comes flame waving Trump, Charlottesville and The Proud Boys.. Won’t dive too deep into it but growing up in the 60’s, I’m thrilled to see A4A be inclusive and include all groups in their blogs for us to comment on.
You don’t see comments lauding the “white gay couple” because it’s not uncommon to see White gay couples in commercials, television shows, movies, etc. They are well-represented. We’ll become unstuck on race when races are equally represented throughout media. It’s pretty simple…
As a black gay man myself, it’s so refreshing, seeing two black gay men, living-loving like two white gay men. It’s like my mother once asked long ago “why do we always see white people being in love” or feeding their kids, or using soap, etc. It’s about evolution; getting to see examples of yourself for a change. If you’re a baby-boomer; you remember a time when blk&wht TV had nothing to do with seeing black people (unless they were domestic workers, of course. “Being stuck on race” the onus isn’t on black Americans, it’s on white Americans, ok. So… Read more »
The commercial isn’t saying ‘do this now’ for Xmas, the narrative is about relationships isn’t it? A very warm and wonderful narrative on relationships is all they’re portraying.