How This Campaign Brought Together Queer Icons to Subvert Hateful Narratives
Earlier this year, non-profit LGBTQ advocacy organisation GLAAD came together with Ogilvy to create ‘Protect This Kid’, a campaign that flips the homophobic narrative that children need to be protected from the LGBTQ community, and reminds us that queer kids are those who actually need protection from harm.
By this point in 2024, the misinformation against the transgender community and animosity towards it is rapidly growing, while LGBTQ Americans are set for a “highly consequential” election year, GLAAD finds, and the political right continues to gain speed throughout Europe. ‘Protect This Kid’ (in somewhat direct opposition to the ‘70s ‘Save Our Children’ anti-LGBTQ movement) comes in as the organisation’s effort to counter misinformation with positive messaging, and use storytelling to celebrate and elevate queer joy.
The team at Ogilvy explains that when they landed ‘Protect This Kid’, the language seemed so powerful in simplicity, that they knew it would be the perfect way to counter the age-old hateful narrative.
A series of interviews accompanied with childhood photographs of LGBTQ heroes stand at the core of the campaign, including stories from Beanie Feldstein, Chris Mosier, Daniella Carter, Margaret Cho, River Gallo, Ryan “R.K.” Russell, Sherry Cola and Yvie Oddly.
Final Cut LA’s editor Zoe Schack was the one who got to look through the raw footage of these incredible interviews and make the difficult decisions on what goes and what stays. While Zoe cut the main film, editors from Final Cut’s ‘New Blood’ roster of upcoming talent worked on the accompanying films across the campaign – Kaylin Smida, Andre Castiglioni, Megan Marie Cannollu and Alyce Muhammad.
LBB’s Zoe Antonov spoke to Ogilvy and Final Cut to take a look behind the scenes of GLAAD’s ‘Protect This Kid’.
LBB> How did you decide on the name? Why was it the best one to headline the campaign?
Ogilvy> Since the ‘Save Our Children’ movement began in 1977, anti-LGBTQ groups have used phrases like “protect our children” to lob ‘groomer’ accusations at the community and garner support from confused parents. We know the power of these phrases is that – on paper – they’re something we can all get behind. After all, who doesn’t want to protect kids? So we decided to use the same tactic for good. With ‘Protect This Kid’, we made it impossible for people to stand behind the idea of children in the name of bigotry. Instead, we showed real “kids” who were the most at risk of harm. In doing so, we set out to reclaim this language, flip the narrative, and remind people that the ones who deserve empathy and protection are the people whose rights are being taken away due to misinformation and bigotry.
LBB> And how did you choose the participants – what does each of them bring to the campaign and were they all on board from the start?
Ogilvy> We considered so many factors when selecting talent. First and foremost, we wanted our cast to represent a wide range of experiences, identities, and industries so that as many people as possible could feel seen and supported by the campaign.
The magic was in their unique perspectives. R.K. spoke so beautifully about his experiences coming out as an athlete, and his hopes for making sports more inclusive. River spoke about the magic of exploring and embracing their identity through art. Margaret emphasised how seriously she takes her role as a queer elder, and how we can all support future LGBTQ generations. Sherry brought positivity and affirmations, using her own story of self-discovery to inspire young people. Beanie shared how her experience coming out as an adult helped her experience a new level of joy. Yvie talked about the powerful self-reflection that comes with expressing oneself fully. Chris spoke about the responsibility he feels as the ‘first’ in so many arenas of life. And Daniella showed us the power of resilience, love and community.
Every single member of our cast was not only excited to be a part of the project, but went way above and beyond their initial planned participation. We are immensely grateful for each and every one of them!
LBB> Tell me about the collection of photographs and how did the selection process for them go?
Ogilvy> Our talent selected some of their favourite images from childhood and we helped them narrow it down. Sometimes, looking back at childhood photos can bring up complex feelings for people within the LGTBQ community so we wanted to be sensitive to that when working with them to select images. Overall, we wanted images that captured the authenticity, joy, and the simplicity of childhood.
LBB> Your score for the film is Billie Eilish's 'What Was I Made For' - how did you pick the track and get a hold of it?
Ogilvy> From the start of this campaign we knew we wanted an impactful song that would capture the emotion that ‘Protect This Kid’ embodies. After we shot the film, we sampled a couple of different tracks behind the footage and fell in love with how well Billie’s track captured what we were trying to express. Thanks to our amazing production team, we were able to ultimately get permission from Billie Eilish provided by Interscope Records, UMPG, Warner Pictures and Kobalt Music.
LBB> How have audiences reacted to the campaign so far?
Ogilvy> The campaign has received so much love. The most rewarding part has been seeing people participate by sharing their own childhood photos and stories. It really shows how much the work reaches and resonates with people.
LBB> Zoe, what were your first thoughts when you found out about the campaign and how did you want to approach the cut for the film?
Zoe> I’m beyond grateful to have been a part of this campaign. What the agency and director wanted to do with this piece was so thoughtful and full of care – I wanted to be a part of it immediately. Giving voice to personal experiences is something I find deeply rewarding. When I begin a documentary or interview-style project, my first goal is to get on the same page as the agency and director and find out what they’re hoping to say with their piece. Then, I let the interviews guide me in the edit.
LBB> Did you cut to the music or did you try to do your own thing separately?
Zoe> The idea to use the Billie Eilish track happened very early on, but there were different iterations of it during the process. The goal was to cut the piece emotionally, not to a beat, focusing on the overall feeling of the cut.
LBB> Did you have a lot of footage to go through and did you have to make lots of difficult decisions?
Zoe> There was so much incredible footage! I got chills watching the raw interviews. Each person filmed was so open and vulnerable about their personal stories. So yes, there were so many difficult decisions. Sometimes you find the perfect sentiment, but it’s not expressed in the best way. What’s the right tone? How personal do we want to get with this piece when we’re creating the individual films that this leads to? We always have to keep asking ourselves, does this answer the central question of the piece?
Kaylin> I had the pleasure of editing Yvie’s story. I’ve been a fan of Yvie and her work for a long time, so I jumped at the opportunity. Yvie is so dynamic and interesting, it was difficult to choose what b-roll moments to use – but that’s the best kind of problem to have.
LBB> What led your creative process when you were deciding what to cut and what to keep?
Zoe> The most important thing was honouring the underlying sentiment that we need to protect LGBTQIA+ youth. Because everyone filmed made so many poignant and impactful statements, it quickly became a conversation between the director, M. G. Evangelista, and the agency creatives. Because everyone cared so deeply about what this piece was trying to do, it was very collaborative. We had so many wonderful things to choose from, so the most important thing was finding those statements that kept resonating with us and we hoped would resonate with anyone who would watch this film.
Andre> Working on some of the additional social films in this campaign, I wanted every shot to have feeling, not just waves of feeling in between lines of script. My hope was that the viewer would feel close to the subject so they could see themselves in their shoes in a more conscious way.
LBB> Did you stick to a standard documentary-style cut, or did you want to approach this in a more layered way?
Zoe> At the outset, we planned to go in one direction based on the script, but once we heard what everyone said in their interviews, we decided to pivot! When you have so much compelling footage, the editing process becomes a crucible of the editing process.
LBB> What was your favourite part of the campaign to work on and why?
Zoe> My favourite part was working with the director and agency on something bigger than ourselves. It’s incredible when you can work on a project that will hopefully help or impact someone positively.
Kaylin> As a member of the LGBTQ+ community myself, working on this campaign was really exciting for me. I think with all of the harmful legislation being passed or trying to be passed in our country, it’s important to share and stand behind the message that LBGTQ+ people are not a threat. We deserve the right to exist and be happy just as much as everyone else does.
Alyce> Working on Chris Mosier's story, I had the opportunity to learn about his life from childhood to where he is today as a trans male athlete for team USA and activist for transgender rights. Hearing him speak about the challenges that he faced head on in order to be able to fully embrace not only the athlete that he is, but the man he is, is something that I hope will resonate with those who are watching.
Mega> Learning about each of these amazing people and helping craft their stories of resilience was a remarkable experience. The vulnerability and strength they display was incredible to witness. I hope that these films resonate with the audience and that we continue to foster communities rooted in empathy and compassion.
