First Kiss - a short video directed by Tatia Pilieva and uploaded to Youtube has gone viral overnight. In just one day the black and white video spotlighting the first moments of physical intimacy between two people, has received over 11 million views and is still going strong. Tatia Pilieva got 20 strangers together, paired them up, and asked them to kiss for the first time in front of her camera. When the strangers have finished embracing, we all just want to stand up and slow clap. But wait... one thing the video doesn't publicize is that it's an advertisement for a clothing line. First Kiss was posted on WREN Studios twitter page today with the accompanying caption "To celebrate the debut of our Fall 14 collection, we asked 20 strangers to kiss for the first time."

Knowing it's an ad is initially forgivable until you realize that the majority of the people kissing are actors and models. Then the veil of whimsy is gone and all that's left is another well planned, viral advertisement and our suspension of disbelief.

The cast includes models Natalia Bonifacci, Ingrid Schram, and Langley Fox (daughter of actress Mariel Hemingway and sister of model Dree); musicians Z Berg of The Like, Damian Kulash of OK Go, Justin Kennedy of Army Navy, singer Nicole Simone, and singer-actress Soko (who also performed the melancholy indie music that accompanies the short); and actors Karim Saleh, Matthew Carey, Jill Larson, Corby Griesenbeck, Elisabetta Tedla, Luke Cook, and Marianna Palka.

Slate writer Amanda Hess provides great insight about the advertisement "Is it really unexpectedly touching that when gorgeous and charismatic Italian models, French actors, indie band leaders, and Hollywood royalty get together to kiss one another—under a soundtrack that prompts, "If you're not ready for love, how can you be ready for life?”— the results are "beautiful"?"

[Via Slate]