Stonewall Marks 30th Birthday with Emotional Spoken-Word Animation

London-based independent creative agency Mr. President is celebrating the 30th birthday of LGBT equality charity Stonewall with a new campaign. Sir Ian McKellen, one of Stonewall’s original founders, lends his famous baritone voice to an animated film from BAFTA-nominated Lucy Izzard at Aardman, creators of Wallace & Gromit and many more.

Stonewall’s '30 Star Moments' campaign also highlights 30 of the charity’s favourite moments of equality over the last 30 years. From the famous female same-sex kiss on Brookside in the 90s, to overturning the rules against LGBT people serving in the military, the campaign contrasts the moral panic and brutality of past anti-LGBT legislation with the reality of the equality we enjoy now. Sir Ian McKellen shows his support by narrating the emotional spoken-word piece for radio nationwide, enhanced with visuals by Aardman for cinemas and Channel 4 across the UK. In OOH, the campaign will achieve over 13 million impacts across Britain promoting overturned legislation from the last 30 years. The OOH was shot by Sophie Mayanne, best known for Mothercare’s latest campaign, #BodyProudMums.

Everyone who features in the images was a volunteer and is either LGBT or actively champions LGBT equality in their community.

Laura Jordan Bambach, chief creative officer and partner at Mr President explained, “For the past three years, our work with Stonewall has been pushing people to Come Out For LGBT to encourage more people to be vocal allies for LGBT rights. With this campaign, we wanted to show the brutality of the legislation and opinion that Stonewall has been fighting, and the positive outcomes when we achieve acceptance without exception. We know that by showing the change Stonewall have made and are still making, we will inspire others to step up and lend their support”

Director Lucy Izzard from Aardman comments: “We believe in the work of Stonewall and were thrilled when Mr. President reached out to get us involved. Coincidentally, Stonewall and Aardman share a red star in our logos - a sign that we were destined to work together.”

The 30th birthday campaign is the third campaign that Mr. President has created for Stonewall since 2017. 'Come Out for LGBT' has been Stonewall’s largest brand campaign, which came on the heels of its 2017 LGBT in Britain report that showed the increasing levels of hate crime and discrimination LGBT people experienced in their daily lives. Come Out for LGBT was a rallying cry to supporters of equality to be visible in their support in the fight for the rights of LGBT people.

Kim Sanders, director of communications at Stonewall said: “We’re proud to be celebrating our 30th birthday with a campaign that shows the real-life impact legislative change has had on LGBT people. While we’ve come a long way in the past 30 years, recent debates over LGBT-inclusive education and trans equality show we can’t be complacent about our progress. This campaign is a call to action for everyone who supports equality to come together now to help create a world where LGBT people are accepted without exception.”

The campaign launches on 24 May, Stonewall’s birthday, in Picturehouse Cinemas before the premiere of the new Elton John biopic Rocketman and between Gogglebox and The Last Leg on Channel 4 just before 10pm on Friday evening. It will feature on TV, cinema, radio, OOH, and online. Businesses and organisations that Stonewall works with, including Channel 4, the Military and The Premier League will commemorate the 30th anniversary by sharing birthday wishes through their channels. The campaign will run until the end of October 2019.