Our brief was a simple but open-ended one: bring-to-life Wells Fargo's brand promise of “Working Together” by connecting with consumers on an emotional level. In considering this brief, we felt Wells Fargo had both a responsibility and an opportunity to show the diverse customers that it serves, including same-sex couples like the one shown in “Learning Sign Language”. Wells Fargo has always been committed to providing financial guidance to same-sex couples and domestic partners, but they had never really told that story - and as the cultural discussion around same-sex marriage was reaching new fervor, the timing was right to engage in that conversation.

Our objective was two-fold - be relevant by contributing to a topical discussion, and reflect the world we live in. So we created a :60 film about a same-sex couple that works tirelessly to learn sign language in order to adopt a deaf child. In doing this, we created a film that sends a positive and progressive message about gender. Many people still believe that a man and a woman are required to make a family, but here we show that gender is not a part of that equation, and love is what makes a family.

The legal definition of marriage in many US states is still gender-specific, defined as being a relationship between a man and a woman. As of April 17, 2015, thirteen US states still ban same-sex marriages. Several US states ban same-sex couples from adopting children. The debate about marriage equality in the US has been escalating for decades, with some defining marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman, and others challenging traditional gender roles in marriage and family.

On April 28th, 2015 the debate reached its apex, as the Supreme Court heard arguments in landmark marriage equality cases.

In the first week of the campaign, the spot garnered over 350MM total earned media impressions -- and beyond being well-loved, it sparked a much-needed conversation about gender, marriage equality, and families with same-sex couples. The spot was picked up organically by Huffington Post, Buzzfeed, E-online, LGBT Weekly, and 100+ other publications. The spot is now the most “liked” YouTube video Wells Fargo has ever produced, with over 6,000 thumbs-up in just the first week. It received over 2,700 external social mentions, achieving over 18MM social impressions, with 47% positive sentiment, and less than 1% negative sentiment – which is unprecedented for Wells Fargo, especially being in the financial services category.

While formal results aren’t in yet, we expect the business impact to be significant. Brand linkage is incredibly high for the film and many individuals have expressed their gratitude to Wells Fargo for creating a positive message about gender, marriage equality, and adoption – and many have publicly shared their intentions to switch banks in support. However, Wells Fargo didn’t air this spot for the business effect, but instead because it reflected the soul of their company and sends a positive message that transcends advertising and the banking category.

A May 2014 Gallup poll showed that only 55% of Americans support same-sex marriage, up only 1% from the year prior. Although the gains have been more significant in recent years, there is still much debate among the public and it is clear that many people believe that only a male and female can constitute a family, and that a mother and a father are necessary for the “normal” upbringing of a child.

Our campaign seeks to reflect the reality of the world we live in, complete with all kinds of wonderfully different people. Even as a risk-averse company in a conservative category, Wells Fargo was eager to move forward with this message even knowing the potential negative implications and backlash of showing a same-sex couple adopting a child in an ad. As a result, the ad challenges the societal expectations of gender, gender roles, and gender representation by showing two women adopting a beautiful daughter with all the care, love, and devotion that any 'traditional' parents would. In this way, it starts to help redefine what genders come to mind when people use the terms “parents”, “family”, and “marriage”.

In short, the strategy was to illuminate the soul of Wells Fargo. We achieved this through a singular idea: that Wells Fargo supports the hard work in everyone. Wells Fargo knows and appreciates how hard their customers work and importantly, why they do it. And because Wells Fargo understands and values how hard their customers work, they're in a better position to work together with them. Every execution of the campaign communicates two interdependent elements in varying degrees: that Wells Fargo understands me, and Wells Fargo knows how to help me.

This campaign strategy felt very true to Wells Fargo given their long-standing culture of inclusiveness and diversity, as well as their focus on the customer - and in particular, their desire to know and understand their customers. The “Learning Sign Language” execution was perhaps the most poignant of the campaign, in that it was unique for Wells Fargo, but at the same time felt very true to them. In fact, the firm has trained employees on how to advise same-sex couples and domestic partners since 2009 and Jamie Moldafsky, CMO of Wells Fargo, has said that Wells Fargo “will only be successful if we mirror the community and population that we serve.” Given that Wells Fargo serves 1 in 3 households in the US, it was time that they reflected a broader swath of their customer base in their marketing and, in the process, shine a light on the brand values of diversity and inclusiveness that they hold so highly.