Airbnb ad touts new anti-discrimination pledge

Airbnb wants to remind everyone that it takes discrimination very seriously.

The home rental service is launching a flashy new ad campaign to show off its anti-prejudice efforts after a series of reports alleging racism among its hosts caused the company a public relations headache.

The 75-second ad involves a montage of ultra-zoomed faces of a diverse range of people sliding like a kaleidoscope into one another as diversity-affirming text flashes sporadically across the screen.

The commercial's title, "Accept," is meant to be a play on the pink confirmation button for bookings on the site, which is featured in the closing shot.

True to Airbnb's artsy, minimalist marketing style, the ad is light on any concrete information. But the message is clearly tied to the startup's efforts to repair its image over the past few months, during which it launched an internal investigation and a new anti-discrimination contract it now makes all hosts and guests sign.

"The concept was simple: Our people, our commitment to each other and a call to action," Airbnb Chief Marketing Officer Jonathan Mildenhall told Mashable in an email. "The film's power laid in the faces. It's a lot more difficult to deny to someone while looking them in the eyes."

But the video's release date made it especially timely as a divided nation reels from an unprecedentedly tumultuous election.

"The intention was for the audience to be our community," Mildenhall said. "But as the rhetoric of the country began to boil over it became clearer than ever that this message of acceptance was beyond Airbnb."

Testimonies of racism within the service began bubbling into public view this spring when Twitter users shared their stories en masse under the hashtag #AirbnbWhileBlack.

A month later, the company was hit with a class-action discrimination lawsuit alleging violations of the Fair Housing Act. (A judge ruled to block the suit earlier this month.)

The bad publicity storm came at a sore time for Airbnb as the company struggled to defend itself from charges that its service advanced gentrification as users reserved apartments solely for renting out via the site.

The company rushed to launch an internal review of discrimination on the platform in June. Three months later, it wrapped up the probe with a series of changes to its booking process aimed at combatting the problem.

The video was made in-house and will be shared only on the company's social channels.