Venables Bell & Partners launched a Pride Month spot for Google highlighting the transition of a trangender man named Jake and the small gym that helped him on his road to gaining confidence and the body he has always wanted.
While the spot focuses on Jake’s emotional journey, it also highlights Hailee Bland Walsh and her business, City Gym in Kansas City. The gym has become a safe haven for transgender men, who discovered the business’ inclusive community on Google. VB&P does a good job of working Google into the narrative without taking away from the heart of the story, Jake’s transformation, with City Gym as the perfect intermediary to promote Google My Business in a way tied to the story. Of course the spot is also extremely timely, with transgender issues still receiving national attention (thanks to Caitlyn Jenner), as well as its arrival in the middle of Pride Month. That Google is a longtime supporter of the LGBT community helps the ad’s sentiment comes across as more sincere than certain other brands and that it’s handled with such finesse ensures that it won’t be taken as simple opportunism.
Credits:
Client: Google
Brand: My Business
Spot: “City Gym”
Agency: Venables Bell & Partners
Chairman: Paul Venables
Executive Creative Director: Will McGinness
Creative Director: Lee Einhorn
Art Director: Avery Oldfield
Copywriter: Adam Wolinsky
Director Of Integrated Production: Craig Allen
Agency Producer: Amy Gatzert
Production Company: Uber Content
Director: Eliot Rausch
Director of Photography: Chayse Irvin
Executive Producer: Preston Lee
Producer: Micki Poklar
Editing Company: Lumberyard
Editor: Kevin Bagley
Sound Design: 740 Sound
Sound Designers: Rommel Molina
Music: Songs for Film and TV
Mix: Lime
V/FX: Lumberyard
V/FX Producer: Zoe Zaitzeff
Business Lead: Colleen McGee
Account Director: Robert Woods
Account Supervisor: Brenda Pyles
Account Manager: Ariel Rosen
Senior Project Manager: Shannon Duncan