For years, talking about the queer community was a taboo in the Indian advertising industry. To mark pride month, let's recall some of the most iconic path-breaking advertisement campaigns that acknowledged the rainbow community and gave them a voice. June is celebrated as the Pride month. It's a movement that unites the entire queer community together to spread the message of equality in all spheres of life, including the right to love.
It's been 10 days since the pride month has begun. Apart from the rainbow-coloured logos on social media, no brand has taken the initiative to normalise the spectrum. Let's look back at some of the iconic advertisements that were created by brands who dared to speak up and bust the myths. These advertisements created a much-needed impact in our country and started a conversation that talked about the issues of the rainbow community.
Close-Up toothpaste Valentine's day advertisement
"Let them judge and disapprove, but it's time for you to #BreakTheBarrier this Valentine's Day with the New Fresher Closeup!" This advertisement campaign was launched in the year of 2017.
Fastrack's The Closet
Way ahead of its time, Fastrack's ad was quite special for India. This advertisement was launched in the year 2013. It was the very first brand
in India to show a lesbian couple. It encouraged the youth to come out of their closet of comfort and speak up, metaphorically.
Fastrack has always been a window into the young, progressive mindset of today's youth. A mindset that isn't bogged down or defeated by society's rules.
It's a twenty-two seconds advertisement with a message "Come out of the closet", and it ends with Fastrack's now famous tagline, "Move On."
Anouk's The Visit
This advertisement has been created by Ogilvy India. It's an advertisement for Myntra's ethnic wear brand Anouk. This was launched in the year 2015 and was one of the first few advertisements that attempted to normalise different sexual preferences, without looking at them through a lens of judgement or for sake of tokenism.
This leaves the viewer mesmerised by the beautiful portrayal of pure love that can happen between any two people.
Vicks' Touch of Care
This advertisement tried to normalise trans motherhood in India. Through "Touch of Care", Vicks raised a conversation that highlighted how motherhood goes beyond biological ties with transgender activist Gauri Sawant, who also runs an NGO called Sakhi Char Chowghi. It showcased her real life story of bringing up a girl.
Brooke Bond Label's 6 Pack Band
Brooke Bond Red Label has always been about brewing togetherness. True to this spirit, the Brooke Bond Red Label 6 Pack Band celebrates
togetherness by depicting a more welcoming world. This song 'Hum Hai Happy' celebrates the queer community. It was an initiative launched in 2016 that was created and driven by Yash Raj films, the youth wing of Yash Raj Films, to help further the cause of gender equality in India. This campaign also brought home the coveted Grand Prix in the Glass Lion category at Cannes.
The Times of India's Out and Proud
This advertisement was published on 16th of May in the year 2019. On the International day against Transphobia, Biphobia and Homophobia. The
Times of India launches 'Times Out and Proud', a campaign to give the LGBTQ community their rightful place in society.The community always had
a place in our heart. Now they'll find a place in our newspaper. The Times of India in collaboration with FCB India was one of the large-scale campaigns that was launched to celebrate this historic milestone. Its campaign aimed to empower the members of the queer community to live a dignified life with acceptance and pride.
OkCupid's #LoveAtFirstPride
#LoveAtFirstPride acknowledged love beyond binary identities. OkCupid, is a digital campaign launched in 2018 that celebrates the rainbow
community. The idea behind the campaign was to cherish the freedom for all gender identities and this has been captured in the video with the LGBTQ community answering questions like 'How much would you reveal about yourself on a first date? ,'What are your views on moving on with your
partner?' and 'What are your thoughts on PDA?'. The campaign was launched in the middle of the pride month and in less than a week, it received an overwhelming support of over a million individuals spread across platforms.
These advertisement campaigns revolutionised the industry in their own ways. These advertisement campaigns simply reminded the audience that they care about queer community's existence by acknowledging and representing different kinds of humans -- conveying that India is stepping out of its closest.
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