Over the summer, Expedia.com launched a new campaign entitled “Find Yours,” which put the camera in the heads of travelers, featuring 100 percent user-generated content. Stories from everyday consumers replaced corporate branding for a breath of fresh air in the marketing world.
Last month, the Washington-based company released a statement announcing their support for gay marriage, and now, they have released a same-sex wedding-themed video that fits beautifully into their latest campaign push.
Aptly titled “Find Your Understanding,” the three-minute clip follows a father, Artie Goldstein, as he comes to terms with his daughter marrying a woman.
“My expectations of what Jill’s life was going to be included a husband,” Goldstein recalls. “So when Nikki came to ask permission to marry our little girl, that startled me. I told her, ‘This is not the dream I had for my daughter.’ I didn’t say yes, I didn’t say no.”
“Once we got out to California, all of that trepidation just seemed to go away. That was a big turning point,” he reminisces as heartfelt footage of the wedding flashes across the screen. “Of course walking Jill down the aisle, just looking at her, she was breathtakingly beautiful, Judy and I were just swelling with emotion. You come to terms with it and you say this is the very natural order of things in your life and it’s supposed to be this way.”
“Our hope is that all families can experience this type of closeness and support, regardless of sexuality,” Nikki and Jill Weiss-Goldstein said in a statement to HuffPost Gay Voices. “We are extremely proud of our father and his personal journey that has led him to his understanding.”
Dara Khosrowshahi, Expedia.com’s chief executive officer, said he was proud to share the family’s unique experience. “At the heart of Artie’s story is the idea that travel is deeply personal,” Khosrowshahi noted. “We’ve built our entire brand behind that idea. The trip to his daughter’s wedding changed his perspective on fatherhood, his daughter’s happiness and her same-sex marriage.”
Though one might argue why the travel giant didn’t spotlight the same-sex couple instead of focusing on the straight parent, the father’s journey of acceptance is raw and emotional, and makes a powerful statement for gay marriage, and as we move toward marriage equality, others might find themselves deciding, “Are you going to have a daughter that you are going to maintain a very wonderful relationship with for the rest of your life? Or are you going to lose that child?” This video is a beautiful reminder of the right choice and that love is love.
Watch the video:
