Real Life Two Dad Family Hopes Their Old Navy Ad Helps Spread Tolerance

Real-life gay dad in new Old Navy ad hopes his family’s photo helps spread tolerance

Old Navy’s latest holiday ad features two gay dads and their adorable kids. The dads are Instagram influencers and a real-life couple and one half of the duo says he hopes his family’s Old Navy ad exposes people to families that look different from their own.

The cute ad shows dads Dustin Patrick Smith & Burton B. Buffaloe and their 3-year-olds twins Stone and Holland in their holiday onesies with a blurb from the dads how the family likes to “mash together” Christmas traditions to create their own but that “Santa comes to our house on Christmas day, that’s non-negotiable.” Interestingly, the idea of “tradition” and expanding your horizons is what inspired Smith and his family to star in the ad in the first place.

“The definitions of a family today and a family in the past are far from similar,” Smith wrote in an Instagram post. “Oftentimes people will say a family includes a mother, father, and children all living under one roof. Our family consists of two fathers, a son and a daughter.”

“Exposure to families that may not be like your own, in particular, encourages tolerance and acceptance because the fact is, everyone’s family is unique,” Smith continued. “As we prep for the holidays we are celebrating uniqueness and individuality.”

Thankfully — and surprisingly — all the comments on Old Navy’s ads featuring the brood were positive and supporting, not a troll in sight.

Old Navy is already on the right side of history and has been a long-time ally of the LGBTQ community. They launched their first “Pride” collection back in 2011, and continue to offer Pride shirts for the whole family year-round.

Plus, the brand put out purple shirts for the Fourth of July this year, as purple was meant to represent the blending of the two patriotic colors in “a reminder that we are one nation, indivisible, not defined by the current labels of ‘red’ and ‘blue.’” The Christmas jammy family also supported that endeavor.

Bravo to Old Navy for spreading love and inclusion.