Tell us about your role in the creation of this work.
This idea happened back to front (oooh pardon!). Global LGBTQ+ rights is something that matters to us, and we believed we could help raise awareness with creativity.
We came up with a speculative idea for a client we had worked with last year: global LGBTQ activists, All Out. We then approached Gay Times to be a media partner, and with their help, we secured talent and worked collaboratively to deliver the film alongside an earned media distribution plan.
Give us an overview of the campaign, what is it about?
#GlobalPrideMakeover aims to raise awareness of the dangers and challenges LGBTQ people face around the world and encourages people to sign up to All Out where they can help take tangible action.
Tell us about the creative brief, what did it ask?
Our brief, to ourselves, (it was a very formal meeting in a Public House) was: how can we leverage Pride in London in a subversive way, to turn the conversation and focus onto LGBTQ rights beyond our borders.
Which insight led to the creation of this piece of work?
Pride in London has become a celebration, which it should be, but it is losing its core purpose as a fight for rights for LGBTQ people everywhere. We wanted to play on the lighthearted conversations people would be having around Pride - like what to wear - to land a strong and unexpected message.
Can you share with us alternative ideas (if any) for this campaign? Why was this idea chosen?
We thought about doing something to shame various embassies around London, but it felt like aggressive activism that wasn’t productive and lacked creative storytelling. We’re also both very law abiding and scare easily.
How did the client initially react to this idea?
They loved it right away. They had some important nuanced builds – which helped make the final campaign what it became - especially when it came to talent and casting.
Talk about the greatest challenge that you and your team faced during development.
Filming, editing, creating and executing a PR and content distribution plan in only seven days.
What did you enjoy most about seeing this campaign through? Did you learn anything new from the experience?
Seeing big mainstream voices from celebrities like James Corden to UK television broadcasters Sky News and ITV’s This Morning getting behind such a crucial LGBTQ agenda was massively rewarding. And lots of tweets from people saying our video was their response when asked why we still need Pride.
Creatively, we learned that when it comes to digital content, what really matters is the story. The work is a lot longer than the average person generally consumes online. We played around with a 60s version, but it had much less impact, so we stuck to our guns.
It was gratifying to see how many people posted it with comments along the lines of “you have to watch this video to the end” proving that if the message is important enough, people will dedicate time to it.
Where do you see this campaign going in the future?
In the near future, we want to tap into the different Prides happening throughout the summer. And next year we want to do something even more surprising and unexpected to keep this important issue on top of the agenda.