Best of 2020 No. 27: Babynames.com unveils a jarring reminder of Black lives lost

Through Jan. 1, Ad Age will be counting down the best brand ideas and campaigns of 2020.

No. 27: Babynames.com isn’t a big brand that does a ton of advertising, but the planning site for prospective parents caught our eye (and that of countless others) when it transformed its homepage in a statement of Black Lives Matter solidarity. The site went viral after it listed dozens of names of Black Americans who have died from police violence or at the hands of civilians, together with the message “Each one of these names was somebody’s baby.” In the wake of the death of George Floyd, it was one of the most unexpected and powerful Black Lives Matter statement to come from corporate America.

Original Story:

Even BabyNames.com, a planning site for prospective parents, has a statement against systemic racism–and it's taking over its homepage. 

Below its search bar is a black box that lists dozens of names of Black Americans who have died from police violence or at the hands of civilians. The list includes names that have appeared in the mainstream news, and others that have not. The list ends with George Floyd, who called out for his mother as he lost consciousness at the hands of the police. 

“Each one of these names was somebody’s baby,” reads the box, followed by: “BabyNames.com stands in solidarity with the black community.” The black box (which visitors can choose to close) pushes down the site’s list of trending names and its “Name of the Day” feature.

The message, which went up on Tuesday, has gone viral on social media, with some people saying they couldn’t access the site because it was too busy. On social media, people called it one of the most powerful statements coming from corporate America.