Billboards: A Platform for Pride
Have you spotted any billboards celebrating this month of Pride?
It’s incredible to witness the ability to leverage this type of out-of-home advertising, showcasing the remarkable progress we’ve made in the UK and worldwide in accepting and celebrating the queer community.
However, there’s still work to be done. Let’s explore how billboard campaigns raise awareness for LGBTQ+ issues:
#SayGay
Billboards doing what they do best: being difficult to ignore!
Across the pond in the state of Florida, after a bill dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” was passed, billboards started appearing all over the state (and country) with the short and sweet tagline: “Say Gay”, in open defiance to the bill.
Why we love this: Billboards are influential platforms for political activism, conveying powerful statements to a broad audience.
Interested? Read about how billboards have been used throughout the war in Ukraine.
#BiVisBiProud Campaign:
To tackle biphobia and bi-erasure, where bisexual people are marginalised in the gay (and straight) community, support groups Just Like Us, Biscuit and the Bisexual Index teamed up to run a UK-wide campaign in prominent areas such as Boxpark Wembley, Liverpool, Leeds and Manchester City Centre.
This billboard simply stated that 50% of the LGBTQ+ community identifies as bisexual, directing to the date of “Bi Visibility Day”, 23rd of September and paired it with a hashtag, encouraging their audiences to share on their social media.
Why we love it: Billboards shed light on niche issues for a larger audience, especially out-of-home where people are more receptive to the content.
#PrideInside: Promoting Virtual Events During Lockdown
This is an interesting one because the OOH sector took a hit during lockdown, however this billboard campaign by PrideInside demonstrated the value of out-of-home marketing.
This initiative was dreamed up by drag star Ginger Johnson and promoted a virtual Pride event during the COVID outbreak which was free to attend. The campaign ran for 2 weeks with over 1000 billboards featuring different members of the queer community from their homes and public places practicing social distancing, taken by LGBTQ+ photographers.
Why we love this: Billboards create a presence, even in empty streets, offering solace to those in confinement who seek would have sought safety in queer spaces.
Aside from these three powerful campaigns, we’ve noticed more light-hearted billboards celebrating the many Pride events coming up in London, and messages of support from various corporations.
It’s important to remember that although the month of June is dedicated to the LGBTQ+ community, the challenges for acceptance and visibility are ongoing and year-round.
Billboard Media would like to wish a happy and joyful Pride to everyone celebrating!
