Tiffany jewelry uses same-sex couple in advertisement for first time

NEW YORK, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- Jewelry company Tiffany & Co. released for the first time an advertisement campaign Friday showing a same-sex couple.

The engagement campaign, titled "Will You?," includes photos by Peter Lindbergh of several couples in various circumstances, including a gay couple sitting on a stoop in New York City. According to a Tiffany spokesperson, the two men are in a real relationship.

"Nowadays, the road to marriage is no longer linear, and true love can happen more than once with love stories coming in a variety of forms," Linda Buckley, Tiffany & Co. VP of North American PR, told Elle in a statement. "The Tiffany engagement ring is the first sentence of the story that a couple will write together as they create a life that is deeply intimate and exceptional, which is the message we hope to convey through this campaign."

Also using digital and video mediums, Tiffany's global campaign puts the company in the same ranks as Starbucks, Banana Republic, Macy's and JC Penney, which have also used gay couples in advertisements. As well, Oreo, Target, Nike, and Microsoft advertise support for gay marriage, which is now legal in 36 states and the District of Columbia.

Macy's and JC Penney absorbed criticism in 2012 for ads showcasing same-sex couples, while Starbucks received similar scrutiny in 2013. None have altered course, however.

The move reflects growing support for marriage equality in the U.S. A poll conducted by Pew Research Center last year showed 52 percent of Americans supporting same-sex marriage, up from 35 percent in 2001.