Erin Kelly

Prof. Babcock

ENG137

8 October, 2017

Love is Love

With all the hate in the world, sometimes we find that the comfort of love is the only

cure. However, for some people, this comfort is unattainable because they love a person who the

public considers wrong to love. In what case is it wrong to love? In many cultures, if people are

of different religions, races, or of the same gender, their love is considered void. AdCouncil, an

organization set on facilitating action regarding public issues, releases ads periodically to

instigate public reactions to controversies like the freedom to love (“About Us”). In 2015,

AdCouncil published an ad called “Love Has No Labels”, and in 2017 the organization again put

forth another ad titled “Fans of Love”. Both of these video ads were published in order to help

spread awareness that love is love, no matter race, gender, sexuality, religion, age or disability.

In the both the ads “Love Has No Labels” and “Fans of Love”, AdCouncil employs multiple

strategies in order to emphasize that it is an intrinsic human right for people to be able love one

another. AdCouncil skillfully uses visual imagery, auditory appeals, and strategic production to

craft videos aptly suited to convince the audience of the importance of the freedom to love.

The use of imagery, by means of a video commercial, allows the audience to gain an

appreciation for the incredibly positive emotional reaction to the situations in both films,

enforcing that the freedom to love is a positive movement. The first ad, “Love Has No Labels”,

begins with a picturesque setting in which families and friends roam the beaches and

boardwalks. This develops pathos in that the viewer feels a sense of serenity and happiness. As
the viewer remains content in the moment, the scene changes to an x-ray board of skeletons

hugging. This image at first may confuse some, drawing curiosity and lighthearted wonder from

the audience. When the skeletons come forward from behind the board, the audience suddenly

sees two drastically unexpected people, like two women or two people of different religions in

love. When these participants come from behind the board smiling and hugging—a

demonstration of love—the audience cannot help but smile back as the atmosphere becomes

saturated with joy. This method of pathos transfers contagious happiness to the crowds in the

videos and even to the viewers at home, helping to associate love, no matter the type, with

positive feelings. In addition, AdCouncil has simultaneously employed undeniable logos in the

skeletal visual—all humans have the same structure despite their outer differences; therefore, all

humans are equal internally and should have equal rights to love whomever they choose. This

visual of skeletons loving each other attempts to convince the audience that the outer appearance

of the love is irrelevant. Love is love, despite what is seen on the outside. This phrase—love is

love—is the new commonplace that AdCouncil wants the world to embrace. Unfortunately,

while most people accept the ideology that all people need love, many do not understand that it

should also be acceptable for this love to come in different forms.

AdCouncil also succeeds in spreading the commonplace that love is love in its newer ad

“Fans of Love” through impactful visuals. The “Fans of Love” video begins in a football

stadium, which immediately generates a united front of people rooting for a team with friends

and family surrounding each other. This united front is a nod to the idea of shared enterprise.

Shared enterprise is the understanding that people must work together as a team for any positive

change to come about, including the positive change from restricted traditional love to free love.

After the setting is established, the Kiss Cam, a fun tradition at sporting games, goes around
searching for victims in the audience who must kiss. At one point the camera zeros in on two

men who kiss—this unexpected pattern continues as people from all different backgrounds show

love for each other, diverging from the prior ideology the love must only be between a man and

woman. As the camera moves around, the audience is cheering, smiling, and giddy with surprise.

This positive environment develops compelling pathos, proving that only happiness and

positivity should be associated with love. Even the sheer number of people reveling in this happy

moment develops a sense of bandwagon for all to join in and support the commonplace that love

is love. Ultimately, the visual imagery in each video calls attention to the happiness people

experience when in love. The visuals help to remind most people of how lucky they truly are to

be able to experience loving freely in everyday life and how dull life would be without the

freedom to love who you wish.

AdCouncil furthers the argument for a person’s freedom to love as the organization

cleverly employs auditory supplements to the videos in the forms of music and testimonies.

“Love Has No Labels” features a song called “Same Love” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.

This song has reached over fifty-four million views on YouTube and had been in the top twenty

songs according to Billboard (Caulfield and Trust). One lyric includes “I can’t change/ even if I

tried/ even if I wanted to” (AdCouncil 2015). These verses explain that people cannot chose who

they love in terms of gender and other difference, and even if they could choose who they fell in

love with, they are not sure if they would want to change themselves. This applies to “Love Has

No Labels” in that people should not choose who they love based on what is technically

considered right; rather, they should be able to love who they love despite differences between

people and deviation from the standard definition of love. The well-known song lyrics and artists

help to assert the ethos of the message Ad Council is conveying. If Macklemore and Ryan Lewis,
who are outspoken about and well-versed in the fight for equality of love, support the Ad

Council’s movement, many other people may be convinced by the ethos of the popular artists.

Another auditory appeal that was used is the testimony of people who believe in the idea that

love is love. By the end of “Love Has No Labels” several voices are heard saying comments like

“my heart doesn’t see race” and “we all have different religions, but we have universal love as

well” (AdCouncil 2015). These voices are sincere and powerful, creating an appeal to pathos as

the emotional words and tone draw in the audience. If the audience is captivated while listening

to the words of these speakers, they may be persuaded to truly believe in these words as well.

Auditory appeals are also executed well in AdCouncil’s film “Fans of Love”. This video

features a song called “Show Me Love,” sung by Hundred Waters, featuring Chance the Rapper.

This song has over nineteen million views on YouTube and features famous artists

(TheOfficialSkrillex). The lyrics of this song include several powerful verses: “Don’t let me

show ugliness/ though I know I can hate/ don’t let me show evil/ though it might be all I take/

show me love” (TheOfficialSkrillex). These lyrics together essentially describe how someone is

able to hate, but if they are shown love, they can learn to return it. This applies to “Fans of Hate”

in that love should be shown and given to all people, despite differences, in order to spread

positivity, unity, and kindness. The auditory appeals also come in the form of testimonies in this

film as well. At the end of the song people are recorded saying “love has no religion” and “love

is about who you are, not what you are” (AdCouncil 2017). These testimonies are packed with

emotional intensity. The words said are truly believed by the speaker, and the intent is that the

emotional pathos within the spoken words will sway the audience to believe that all love is valid.

In both ads released by AdCouncil, auditory appeals allow AdCouncil to take the film to another

level, for the musical choices and ending testimonials by participants warrant emotional
reactions from the viewers, helping audience to understand that accomplishing freedom of love is

a necessity.

Another method that AdCouncil employs to gain support is their use of strategic

production, whether that strategy took into account when the organization produced the ad or the

credibility behind the producers. The ad “Love Has no Labels” was released March 3rd, 2015,

which was incredibly strategic timing as the fight for marriage equality was in full swing. Ad

Council appealed to the kairos of the times as people marched and fought for equality, seeing

that a breakthrough was possible. This breakthrough came a few short months after the ad was

produced; on June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled marriage equality to be a right of a United

States Citizen (Liptak). “Fans of Love” also was produced at a tactical time, employing kairos to

appeal to the time sensitive moments in history. AdCouncil produced “Fans of Love” after the

election of Donald Trump, a very conservative president. Areas like Texas attempted to repeal

the Supreme Court’s ruling of marriage equality. While this fight is still occurring, AdCouncil

has successfully capitalized on the issues of current times in order to appeal to the masses and

release an ad that could remind people that love is love, no matter how different people can be

from one another. While both the ads certainly appeal to Kairos, they both appeal to ethos as

well. When AdCouncil created the ads, they made sure to assert their credibility. AdCouncil has

thousands of donors supporting their work. Just some of these major donors include Facebook,

Google, Comcast Corporation, Pepsi, and more (“Donors”). These big-name companies would

only be a part of the civic infrastructure behind an organization worthwhile, giving AdCouncil

great credibility in its production. Ultimately, AdCouncil strategically produces ads by paying

attention to kairos (capitalizing on moment in history), as well as gathering the support of

thousands of big name companies (producing reliable information in the eyes of the viewers),
making a more compelling argument for the equality of love.

It is easy for a person to hate what is unknown to him or her. This is why AdCouncil has

set out on a mission to produce ads that are civically engaging, leading people to accept the

commonplace that love is love, no matter what kinds of people are involved. Through visual

imagery, AdCouncil develops pathos and logos throughout “Love Has No Labels” and “Fans of

Love”. AdCouncil also uses auditory appeals in each ad to establish both strong ethos and

pathos. Furthermore, AdCouncil uses its strategic production to air the ads at the right time with

the right donors, to develop kairos and even more ethos. Ultimately, both “Love Has No Labels”

and “Fans of Love” equally contain impressive rhetorical appeals to the audience, convincing the

viewers that love is love. When society can finally accept that all love (both romantic and

friendship based) between all people is valid, the world will be a kinder place with fewer

disagreements, for when people can love each other they can better understand each other.

Works Cited
“About Us.” AdCouncil, Ad Council.

AdCouncil. “Fans of Love | Love Has No Labels | Ad Council.” YouTube, YouTube, 14 Feb.

2017.

AdCouncil. “Love Has No Labels | Diversity & Inclusion | Ad Council.” YouTube, YouTube, 3

Mar. 2015.

Caulfield, Keith, and Gary Trust. “Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' Gay Equality Anthem 'Same

Love' Hits Top 20 on Billboard Hot 100.” Billboard, Billboard, 3 July 2013.

“Donors.” AdCouncil, AdCouncil.

Liptak, Adam. “Supreme Court Ruling Makes Same-Sex Marriage a Right Nationwide.” The

New York Times, The New York Times, 26 June 2015,

TheOfficialSkrillex, director. Show Me Love. YouTube, YouTube, 22 Mar. 2016,