Wells Fargo Is Not Backing Down Over Gay-Friendly Ad

Have you seen the Wells Fargo commercial with the lesbian couple and their adorable, adopted deaf daughter? Well, conservative Christian activists certainly have, and they’re not happy — but the bank refuses to take the ad down.

The advertisement, showing two women learning sign language while they prepare to adopt a hearing-impaired child, has prompted two large Christian groups to withdraw their support from the bank in the last couple of weeks.

“Have you ever asked yourself — how can we fight the tide of moral decay that is being crammed down our throats by big business, the media, and the gay and lesbian community?” said Franklin Graham on Facebook. “At the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, we are moving our accounts from Wells Fargo to another bank.”

They declared they were moving their money to BB&T and urged other Christians to do the same — and soon learned the bank is actually a sponsor of the Miami Beach Gay Pride Parade.

Now the American Family Association is hopping on the bandwagon, demanding that Wells Fargo stop “promot[ing] homosexuality” and stick to talking about loans and interest rates.

“For years, Wells Fargo has supported a lifestyle that is not in line with biblical standards, so now it’s time for Christians to pull their business from the bank,” said Tim Wildmon, president of the AFA.

The group said in a press release that it’s urging its hundreds of thousands of supporters to close their Wells Fargo accounts. “Wells Fargo already lost a multi-million-dollar customer last week. Now the bank can expect to lose a few more.”

All the same, Wells Fargo is not going to pull the ad.

Christina Kolbjornsen, Wells Fargo’s senior vice president of multicultural and enterprise marketing communications, says diversity and inclusion is “foundational” to the bank.

“Wells Fargo’s support for the LGBT community aligns with our broader commitment to diversity — to serve diverse customers, to hire, develop and retain diverse team members and to encourage team members to value and respect each other for their differences. Our advertising content reflects our company’s values, and represents the diversity of the communities we serve.”