Doritos releases heartwarming ad about a dad and his gay son based on a real Reddit post

You might want to reach for a bag of nachos and some tissues after watching a heartwarmingly beautiful commercial from Doritos Mexico. Spreading some much-needed warmth on the internet, the two-minute-long ad was released over the holidays in Mexico and is called "El mejor regalo" which translates to "the best gift." What makes the ad's message of acceptance and unconditional love even more special is the fact that it is based on a real-life Reddit post from a father seeking advice on how to tell his gay son that he loves him and supports him without it coming across like he was forcing him to come out.

The post titled "My son and his 'friend' are a couple. How do I let them know it's okay?" quickly went viral on the platform after it was posted to Reddit's r/relationship_advice community nine months ago. In it, the father — who describes himself as "an old fart who is rather on the wrong side of 40" — explains how his son — whom he lovingly refers to as his "absolute pride and joy" — brought his school roommate home because he had nowhere else to go when the novel Coronavirus pandemic hit. "They've been back at mine for about six weeks now. They think they're being subtle I know, but I've caught them doing coupley things on several occasions now," the loving dad explained.

"The 'friend' has slipped up a couple of times and called my son 'babe' and 'sweetie' in front of me, which I pretended not to notice for the sake of saving embarrassment. There have been nights where we'll be watching a film with the lights off and, thinking I can't see, my son will have his arm around the 'friend,'" he continued. "What I want advice on is this; how do I let my son and his boyfriend know that I'm okay with them being a couple and they don't have to feel like they have to sneak around in my house?"

"I want them to be comfortable here and I want them to know I support them both no matter what. Or is that not a good idea? Am I better off leaving it alone and waiting until they tell me themselves if they ever do?" he asked. "I obviously don't want to force either of them out of the closet, but at the same time, I hate feeling as if they feel like they're being forced into the closet in my house. What's my best course of action here??" The wholesome post received an incredible response from Redditors — many of whom shared stories of being pushed away by their families for being gay — and the dad soon shared an update on how things had eventually worked out.

"I told [my son] face to face 'Son, I love you very much. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to, but I want you and [friend] to feel comfortable being yourselves in my house and you don't ever need to hide anything from me, alright?'" the dad recounted. "Well, it turns out a hell of a lot of you were right. Son burst out laughing and said 'oh thank God, I reckoned you'd clicked on but didn't say anything because I didn't want to make you feel weird.' Basically, we've each been pussyfooting around the topic because neither one of us wanted to make the other uncomfortable talking about it."

While at first glance, it would seem impossible to capture all the love and wholesomeness of this Reddit post, Doritos has managed to accomplish just that. According to Out, the ad is part of the continued LGBTQ+ outreach programs of Doritos. "We're really proud of the accomplishments that have been achieved with Doritos Rainbow," Eduardo Córdoba, marketing director at Doritos México, said in a statement. "And we believe the moment is right to show that our commitment extends beyond a proud celebration every June." Here's the ad with English subtitles: