Although brands in the United States and elsewhere in the world have been featuring gay couples in advertising for years, such has not been the case in Greece, where the ultra-conservative Orthodox Church retains a strong hold over people’s attitudes and matters pertaining to the LGBT community there still are seen as “controversial” by many.
The Greek superstore chain Jumbo has officially entered the pro-diversity advertising game in Greece, releasing an advertisement featuring a gay couple.
Jumbo’s advertisement, which features a newly-married heterosexual couple and an older, longstanding gay couple, is the first time a gay couple has been portrayed in a Greek television advertisement openly.
The spot is part of a series released by Jumbo called “the democracy of joy” and is sure to spark controversy in a nation that has seen bitter public fights between Church and government over the rights of gays and lesbians in Greece.
In their “democracy of joy” campaign, Jumbo also features a series of different spots with a deaf man, a Greek shopper and a Bangladeshi migrant, and other “different” sets of people.