What do you do when you want to send a powerful message of inclusion to the world in the face of President Trump’s immigration ban?
For Airbnb, the answer was to buy a Super Bowl advertisement.
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said the Super Bowl spot was purchased Thursday morning. The footage used in the advertisement is of Airbnb employees and was taken for a 2016 commercial.
An initial tweet said Airbnb “made the film” on Thursday, however Chesky later explained on Twitter how the concept was developed and edited last week, with the final product finished Thursday night.
The theme of the ad: #WeAccept.
The commercial aired as Airbnb and nearly 100 other technology companies prepared to file a friend of the court brief in federal appeals court early Monday, opposing President Trump’s immigration ban.
Related: Big Tech Companies File Amicus Brief in Immigration Travel Case
“The order effects a sudden shift in the rules governing entry into the United States, and is inflicting substantial harm on U.S. companies,” the amicus curiae brief, filed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, read.
“It hinders the ability of American companies to attract great talent; increases costs imposed on business; makes it more difficult for American firms to compete in the international marketplace; and gives global enterprises a new, significant incentive to build operations — and hire new employees — outside the United States.”
Airbnb has been one of the more vocal companies opposing Trump’s controversial order. The company pledged to help anyone displaced by the order — which has since been stayed — with free housing.
