• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, November 23, 2020

Black Friday took on new meaning Monday with the Grammy-winning artist Wyclef Jean performing an animated jingle he wrote to support shopping at black-owned small businesses this holiday season. 

The campaign reimagines Black Friday as #BlackOwnedFriday.

The animated anthem jingle for Google’s #BlackOwnedFriday campaign is an innovative social campaign that Jean partnered with Google to create, along with the U.S. Black Chambers and BBH NY.

The lyrics change the meaning of the shopping day:" It ain't Black Friday. Yea Yeah Yeah. It's Black-Owned Friday, November 27 is Black-Owned Friday. Make an impact by shopping with Black—Owned Businesses."

"I’ve seen firsthand the strain and struggle that Black-owned businesses face," Jean wrote in a post. “In 2020, those struggles skyrocketed: Black-owned businesses have closed at double the rate of white-owned businesses due to the COVID pandemic. For many of them, this holiday season will be critical to their survival.”

The campaign reimagines Black Friday as #BlackOwnedFriday to support shopping at Black-owned small businesses across the U.S. this holiday season. 

Jean also wrote and produced an animated jingle supporting his favorite Black-owned business, which went live today, called Vibez jingle.

Jean is not the only artist jumping on board to help. Ari Lennox also created an animated jingle about Grounded Plants, a Washington, DC-based company that specializes in providing plants to help people disconnect from stress through a sense of tranquility and mindfulness. The work in progress also promotes shopping at black-owned businesses, especially this one, on Black Friday.

Google search data shows consumers want to support Black-owned businesses. By October 2020, search interest for black-owned businesses surpassed 2019 by more than 2100% in the United States.

The campaign also helps to bring awareness to Google's Black-owned attribute, which the company recently launched on Google Search and Maps in partnership with the U.S. Black Chambers. The attribute allows businesses to identify themselves as Black-owned and helps consumers find Black-owned businesses when they are searching for them on Google Search and Maps, for a search like Black-owned restaurant near me.

Launched in mid-October as a social-first campaign, #BlackOwnedFriday shares the stories of Black-owned businesses, highlights the resources available through Google and the U.S. Black Chambers' ByBlack directory, and encourages followers to share their favorite Black-owned businesses on social. Posts are shared every Friday and will be up and beyond November 27.

With additional support from the U.S. Black Chambers, the campaign also features #BlackOwnedFriday assets, created by BBH NY, which will be available on Google and Google Small Business’ social media channels.