Lloyds TSB include gay couple in TV advert

Lloyds TSB have included a gay couple in a new TV advertising campaign.

On Monday night a new Lloyds TSB advert premiered at 9.15pm on ITV featuring a gay couple.

The couple featured in the advert, Emery and Dillion, can be seen riding a Segway and walking hedgehogs. The names were selected by staff at Lloyds TSB, but they aren’t the first gay couple to be featured in Lloyds advertising, as in June 2010, a same-sex couple appeared in a print advertisement.

The couple were developed with the bank’s LGBT staff network, Rainbow. A rainbow flag has been put on Emery and Dillion’s Segway to represent the banks LGBT customers and the Rainbow staff network.

Steve Jackman, Senior Manager at Lloyds TSB Customer Treatment and Co-chair of the Rainbow Diversity Network said, ‘Working closely with our colleagues in Marketing we had great fun developing these characters and were pleased to be able to introduce them within the advert. Although Lloyds TSB has featured same sex couples in print advertising this is the first time a gay couple have featured in a TV ad and it’s particularly pleasing that the advert recognises our customers, like our colleagues, are all different’.

Halifax, member of the Lloyds Banking Group, also features a gay couple in its mortgage adverts. These are to be featured in LGBT publications over the coming months.

Eva Eisenschimmel, Director of Customer, Brand, Digital and Telephone Banking for Lloyds Banking Group has spear-headed the inclusive approach for both banks. Commenting on the new ads Eva said; ‘Including same sex couples within the Halifax and Lloyds TSB ads is a small part of our wider aim to ensure we reflect the diversity of our customers and staff in our advertising. As a Group we are committed to LGBT equality and have a strong tack record in this field.’

Lloyds TSB have consistently been named in Stonewall’s Top 100 Employers, and have recently signed up to partner their Youth Volunteering Programme.