How These Famous Campaigns Got a Queer Makeover
Ads targeted at ad people would probably be quite hard to execute. But this one is different - its aim is not to sell, but to convince advertisers of the importance of inclusivity, and especially inclusive language in copywriting.
Outvertising, a volunteer run non-for-profit organisation fighting for LGBTQIA+ equality within the communications industry, collaborated with agency Across the Pond to rewrite some of the most memorable copywriting moments of the industry from ads all ad folk would remember. Taking a disruptive approach, the out-of-home campaign strikes a nerve with advertisers who have undoubtedly read these five iconic ads of the past - in their original versions - and were now pushed to see them through a queer lens.
As Outvertising’s first ever campaign and a pro-bono project from Across the Pond, the billboards in key spaces across the UK aim to get more people from the industry interacting with the organisation in various ways. By joining their Slack community, attending events, or inviting them into their workspaces to do their training, agencies and production companies alike can support Outvertising’s activism and do much more.
LBB’s Zoe Antonov spoke to joint CEO of the organisation Marty Davies and Across the Pond senior creative Nick Alden to find out more about the process of rewriting the iconic ads and how they struck the right tonality.
LBB> What was the brief for this campaign and why did you choose Across the Pond as your partners for it?
Marty, Outvertising> The brief was to get as many LGBTQIA+ people and allies to join us in our mission to make the industry as inclusive as possible as we'd never really proactively looked at growing our network. Outversing’s core community hub is our Slack channel, so ultimately the task was to get people to join that online community. We've made a very inclusive and welcoming group where people share news and views about the advertising and marketing industry and beyond. We want to make sure it benefits as many people as possible.
One of our board of directors works at Across the Pond, and they generously offered to work on this for us pro bono. They are an agency who have inclusion at their core, and they were very keen to get their creative chops around this!
LBB> What were the initial ideas after receiving the brief?
Nick, AtP> Outvertising is an organisation on a mission to change the industry through an increased representation of the queer community. It exists to make UK marketing and advertising completely LGBTQIA+ inclusive. To do this, the team needs as many industry folk as possible to join its group and make it count. Our brief was to get more people from the LGBTQ+ community - and their allies - to join Outvertising’s Slack channel.
We were speaking to a niche audience of advertisers and marketers. So we got to thinking about things that only they would understand and relate to. Our observation was that well-known ads, taglines and campaigns are our industry’s shared language. We can’t talk about them enough and we look back at old ads with nostalgia. So we decided to take those famous ads and rewrite them with LGBTQIA+ representation in mind. After all, as we’re in this business, we can change it.
LBB> This is Outvertising’s first campaign to date and it's also huge - what was the preparation like and what were the biggest challenges that came with it?
Marty> Outvertising is a volunteer run not for profit organisation, so everyone gives their time and energy for free, often around very busy day jobs. So there were of course challenges that come with that. We also knew that we would rely on the generosity of media partners to help us amplify it, and additional creative talent to help us execute it. Launching in time for LGBT history month meant that many brilliant organisations really showed their commitment to the cause by offering amazing ad spaces. These included Clear Channel, DOOH, The Drum Network and Campaign Live.
LBB> What was your main message you wanted to convey through the campaign and who was it targeted at?
Marty> The primary audience are people who work in advertising and marketing, all over the UK - both people in the queer community, and also allies. We’d love the people to join our Slack group to be ambassadors for Outvertising’s mission and activities.
As a wider awareness piece, we wanted members of the public to understand the idea of more diverse representation across all forms of media. Perhaps people haven’t considered the idea of needing authentic and diverse representation and the impact that has on society. Then beyond that, maybe they haven’t considered that it takes someone to intentionally act on that desire to really create change.
LBB> Why did you decide now is the right time to create your first campaign? And are there more to come?
Marty> Outvertising has built solid foundations, developed a reputation and has momentum. In 2022, we had our first live event in ‘Outvertising Live’. We brought our queer community and allies together - it was an event that aligned us, inspired us and galvanised our spirit.
This year we’re focusing on growing our community in order to grow our influence. Our organisation actually turns four years old this year, we’ve learned to walk, now we think it’s time to run.
What’s great about the campaign is how flexible and evergreen it is. We’ll be able to utilise this campaign long into this year - and perhaps even see it develop new executions.
In terms of another big outing for brand Outvertising it will be Outvertising Live 2023. This year we want to influence more C-suite. So this year we’ll be asking you to BYOB - bring your own boss. So keep a lookout for that at the back end of the year.
LBB> What kind of research went into creating the copy for the billboards?
Nick> Language around the LGBTQIA+ community is forever evolving and being re-evaluated. And this project became a catalyst for plenty of healthy, progressive conversations about which words to use. In an attempt to get it right, we spent time talking to the Outvertising board and to volunteers to sense-check and evaluate the words we used and our writing.
LBB> How did you choose the locations of the billboards and why? Will it appear anywhere else besides OOH?
Nick> We were lucky enough to get OOH coverage all across the UK which was really important to us as this impacts the whole advertising and marketing industry nationwide. The ads appeared across social media, paid digital that was industry targeted and wider industry press.
LBB> How did you select the ad scripts and how many are there in total?
Nick> We had a look back at the most famous ads over the years and picked those that could effectively be rewritten to be more inclusive with the LGBTQIA+ community. Due to the format of the copy-led idea, we needed to pick ads that were instantly recognisable by the audience from a short text description. We ended up with five in total.
LBB> What has the response to the campaign been so far?
Nick> We had so many touching reach outs from individuals and companies who expressed that they really enjoyed the campaign. Most importantly, it’s boosted Slack sign ups for Outvertising and generated a strong turnout at their most recent quarterly onboarding session. We’re awaiting a full report, but so far it’s looking like the campaign has worked well. It feels like a really important time for the organisation, and it’s been rewarding to be part of their growth.
We’re looking forward to the next one!
