Kellogg's, McCain and Axe praised for LGBTQ+ campaigns

Also praised was Leo Burnett’s ‘My Perfect Bowl’ campaign for Kellogg’s which helped revive the cereal-makers image with a diverse LGBTQ cast delivering 17 million online views.

Other brands to get it right included McCain Foods which won over audiences of all flavours with Adam & Eve DDB’s ‘Here to Love’ which depicted a genuine gay couple to demonstrate the power of love as a unifying force.

By highlighting how to do things right PrideAM are seeking to encourage other brands to step up to the plate while avoiding the sort of tokenism which has bedevilled other advertisers finding their way in the market.

In order to prevent this PrideAM has also updated its 'Outvertising' guide which offers advice through every stage of the ad planning process. Its recommendations include ensuring work is representative of today’s society, avoids resorting to tokenism and stereotypes by bringing on board LGBTQ individuals at the planning stage to avoid misunderstandings.

The advice extends to a plea not to fully commit to a message and not to play it safe in a cloak of ambiguity, consider blind casting to prevent bias and include LGBTQ members in wider multi-channel activity if not in the main ad itself.

Mark Runacus, chairman of PrideAM, said: “We don’t deny that creating LGBTQ-inclusive ads can be a minefield, particularly if the people behind the work are straight, but it is so important to the progression of the queer rights movement that LGBTQ people are more visible in the media.”

The Drum has previously spelled out three of the most common pitfalls when it comes to representing the LGBTQ community including representing only a one facet of its diversity.