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In the wake of fumbled executions by several heavyweight brands that will become textbook examples of performative marketing, Pride month was off to a rocky start.
Thankfully, Visible Wireless’ new Pride campaign has arrived to show brands positioning themselves as allies to the community how it’s done: In a way that serves both the community and brand without feeling forced and disconnected.
The Verizon-owned wireless carrier and its agency, Madwell, kicked off the month with the cheekily named “No Straight Answers,” a 70s-themed game show paying homage to the decade in which the LGBTQ+ community began its now-annual celebration.
The entertaining and nearly 6-minute-long video sees the return of comedian Benny Drama—who previously appeared in the brand’s “Single’s Day” campaign—as the campy and perfectly coiffed host tasked with quizzing the two teams, each representing the community’s elder and Gen Z members, on questions meant to build awareness, connections and conversations between them.
The game’s clever premise also serves as a springboard to promote the brand’s partnership with SAGE, a nonprofit committed to the advocacy of “bringing generations of LGBTQ+ people together to connect and support one another,” as Drama notes in his epilogue.
Participating in the friendly face-off are The Old Gays, the elderly TikTok sensations with nearly 11 million followers (whom Drama refers to as “a generation that knows how to write in cursive”), and The Young Slays, a group comprising of Gen Z creators Jared Goldstein, Kendahl Landreth, Lila Jackson and Athena Layna (lovingly deemed “precious little ones who have never known a world without the sum total of the human knowledge available in their pocket”).
Through rounds with titles such as “LGBTQ&A” and “Slang Slam,” the teams and the audience learn several interesting facts, including the year the Pride flag was designed, the best place to go for an LGBTQ+ vacation and what it means to be “screaming crying throwing up.”
The #ProudlyVisible campaign is fully digital and will run on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube starting June 1, with the brand inviting fans to visit their website for more information and test their LGBTQ+ history with trivia and quizzes on TikTok and Instagram throughout the month.
Helping the (in)Visible feel seen
With over 650 pieces of legislature threatening the community across the country, brands have an opportunity to use their reach and platforms to advocate for and support the community authentically and shift the tone of what has become dangerous rhetoric. Because Visible has historically made advocacy core to its values, the work sticks the landing.
“We wanted to approach [Pride] in a different way [this year],” Cheryl Gresham, CMO and vp of Verizon Value, told Adweek. “We thought a lot about ‘What are the important topics?’ ‘What’s going on?’ ‘What’s both entertaining but important?’”
