Bubly Celebrates Safe Spaces and Chosen Families in Sweet Pride Ad
For Pride Month, Bubly is paying homage to the chosen family members of the LGBTQ+ community and the safe spaces where they are accepted and can be themselves.
"Coming Home" takes place in an LGBTQ+ nightclub where friends new and old come together. The two-minute ad stars musician Naomi McPherson and uses their band MUNA's new song, "Home By Now," throughout. McPherson plays Jac, a nonbinary person, who visits an LGBTQ+ bar by themselves. They aren't alone for long and are embraced and introduced into a friend group.
Actress Kimia Behpoornia and drag artist Eureka O'Hara, among other LGBTQ+ talent, appear in the video, created by TBWA\Chiat\Day New York.
"Chosen families are often the ones who truly understand their experience on a deeper level and provide a sense of belonging," says Zach Harris, VP, water portfolio, at PepsiCo Beverages North America. "Bubly was inspired by chosen families and the safety of LGBTQ+ safe spaces, where they can be their authentic selves. Bubly produced a short film in a LGBTQ+ bar that shows its different patrons and unique chosen families that gather there—from regulars who stop by with their friends every Friday, to bartenders who feel like family, to drag artists who entertain each week, to the person looking to find their people within the LGBTQ+ community."
Bubly donated $100,000 to the Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative, which helps protect LGBTQ+ safe spaces across the country.
In addition, the brand gave grants to LGBTQ+ safe spaces across the country: The Apartment Lounge in Grand Rapids, Michigan; InCahoots Nightclub in Jacksonville, Florida; Boycott Bar in Phoenix, Arizona; and South Press Coffee in Knoxville, Tennessee.
The director of "Coming Home" is Ally Pankiw, Harris tells Muse. "We knew we wanted a director from within the LGBTQ+ community, and Ally's background in comedy, writing, and narrative storytelling stood out as hugely beneficial to a dialogue-driven script that showcases queer joy."
