“The message is simple: whatever you do and however you do it, come out for LGBT.”
Australians are currently fighting for or against marriage equality. Fighting tends to bring out the worst, as well as the best, in people. Sadly, in this case, the worst is harming a group of people already sensitive to the slings and arrows of hateful Australians.
The everyday hardships and growing fears over the last years that led to the election of Trump in the US and the vote for Brexit in the UK, for example, have also triggered a rise in LGBT hate crime in the UK.
UK agency, Mr President, has just completed a campaign called #ComeOutForLGBT for UK LGBT charity, Stonewall, to spur passive supporters of LGBT equality into visible allies. Ex-Aussie and chief creative officer of Mr President, Laura Jordan-Bambach, sent the campaign with this message, “I’m hearing so many stories from friends back home that the postal vote is causing more hate crime, more horrible remarks on the street and in the playground for their kids, I’m pleased this is out there to hopefully be used by allies in Oz too.”
Mr President’s campaign is doing its job particularly well already. It achieved more than 800 pieces of coverage in the first 12 hours, and was trending for the entire day of launch with 32,000 direct Tweets in 24 hours, including those from celebrities, politicians, sportspeople and clubs, with no spend on Twitter and only a tiny amount on Facebook.
“Of course, it’s a charity message, but it’s really captured the hearts of the country – Arsenal and Man U. have both shown support (and some of the comments on their posts show why this message is still so important),” Bambach noted.
“This has been my particular baby so I’m so pleased it’s off to such an awesome start.”
The campaign kicked off with a TVC, followed by cinema. The 3-year campaign will cover everything from material for schools and workplaces, to limited edition shirts and trainers for London Fashion Week in February.
If you’d like to show your support, sign the pledge here. You can also promote acceptance with campaign merchandise, including T-shirts, tote bags and mugs.
NOTE: Jordan-Bambach is one of the 80 “unusual minds” speaking at the Rare masterclass in Sydney, November 20 -24. If you’d like to hear her, apply here.