Openly to the World
Behind our launch campaign
Openly has been conceived to bring impartial LGBT+ news to ‘a world that isn’t’. We have chosen this tagline precisely to represent the need for fair, accurate and impartial LGBT+ news. Sadly, in many countries around the world, LGBT+ people continue to be misrepresented by the media, with news being used as a weapon to target and discriminate them. This has a direct impact on the lives of millions of people who find themselves trapped into a cycle of discrimination and poverty.
Displayed in Times Square, New York and on 300 screens across London, our launch campaign builds upon the idea of denouncing the misrepresentation against LGBT+ people, and expressing the urgent need for fair journalism.
The campaign is articulated in two phases. The first highlights derogatory words used in actual headlines and news articles about LGBT+ people from around the world. The second features portraits of LGBT+ people who are openly being themselves, empowered, and standing up to prejudice.
Designed and executed pro bono by award-winning advertising agency TBWA, the Openly launch campaign uses bold and captivating imagery shot by London-based photographer Leonora Saunders, to represent the diversity, dynamism and openness of the LGBT+ community.
Our social campaign builds upon our outdoor presence with participants of the Openly photoshoot sharing offensive language used against them by the general public and countering such language with words they feel truly represent them.