The spot is running in movie theaters and during ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’

Head out to see Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 in Reno, Nev., this holiday season, and you’re likely to catch a slick new jewelry ad that shows two hip-looking women getting engaged (with a huge diamond ring) on a picturesque country bridge.

This, after applying cherry-red lipstick and racing around together in a sporty convertible. As the spot winds down, the couple kisses, the setting sun in the background.  

The 30-second clip from Reno’s BVW Jewelers is meant to lure local LGBT consumers—who were legally able to marry in Nevada as of October 2014. The ad is running in regional movie theaters and on northern Nevada’s local CBS affiliate, KTVN, during The Ellen DeGeneres Show. 

The spot launched online Nov. 20, and in its first weekend generated more than 20,000 impressions on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram, says Britten Wolf, who owns the three-year-old store with his wife, Michelle Wolf (pictured, above, with their family). 

Reno is infamous for expediting quickie divorces, but the retailers hope the state’s relatively recent legalization of same-sex marriage will attract more marriage-ready LGBT couples.   

“From a business perspective, same-sex couples could be a very lucrative demographic,” Wolf says, adding that he and Michelle chose to feature a lesbian couple in their first ad targeting the LGBT community because “they will do the diamonds more often than men.”

The couple worked up the idea for the ad and Bryon Evan Films spearheaded the production—an expenditure that required serious capital on BVW’s part. But, “the day after we ran the ad online, I had a [same-sex] couple come in and what they bought basically paid for the ad,” Wolf says.

Feedback from the spot has overwhelmingly positive, but the store has received a few calls from locals “saying we disagree with your ad and won’t be shopping with you.” The retailer was amazed that all the complaints came from people who saw the ad while watching The Ellen Degeneres Show (which, of course, is hosted by the trailblazing and openly gay DeGeneres).

But the family-owned business won’t be deterred. “We’re definitely going to do more to market to the LGBT community,” says Britten, who thinks the larger jewelry retail industry has fallen short when connecting with LGBT buyers. “Everyone wants to make money off of them, but I don’t see them outreaching to their communities. We realize that there is revenue to be generated there. And, more importantly, it’s nice to do something we believe in.”

(Photo courtesy of Anicia Beckwith; video courtesy of BVW Jewelers)

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