From Ad to Action

Telling the story of a lesbian couple at an impasse in their relationship, HSBC’s ‘We Café’ is a touching narrative that shows one woman secretly working to start a café business with the help of HSBC loans as a sign of commitment to their shared future.

But here’s the catch: it could’ve been anyone. The ad presents the same-sex relationship matter-of-factly, focusing on universal themes of love, trust, and ambition rather than making it the sole focus. The story could have been centred on a heterosexual couple, and it would’ve stayed exactly the same.

The context the ad was released in is crucial – HSBC had to consider Hong Kong’s social climate. Yes, it showed boldness by taking a calculated creative risk in a challenging advertising market: it was the first bank in HK to prominently feature an LGBTQ+ couple in their marketing. But by framing the idea in a culturally resonant way – positioning the story around common values like family and commitment rather than an overt Pride theme – it was able to drive broader social acceptance.

Not only did HSBC manage to boost brand affinity, consideration, and equity, but it reached its intended audience – 92 million impressions led to 79% of consumers seeing the bank as younger and more modern, and 70% seeing it as advocating diversity and inclusion.

HSBC did inclusion the right way by embedding it naturally into a relatable story – signalling it understood modern HK families and connecting with a new generation of customers.

How many brands can say their Pride campaign literally saved lives? Almost none – but BMO makes the list.

During Pride, the rainbow symbol is all around us. BMO decided to capitalise on that – turning the motif into a vehicle for real action. The ‘Rainbow Deposits’ campaign invited anyone with a phone to “spot, snap and deposit” photos of rainbows – whether in nature, Pride flags, or even other brands’ rainbow logos – via a custom web app.

Each one triggered a $1 donation from BMO to the LGBTQ+ charity Rainbow Railroad, directly helping vulnerable LGBTQ+ people flee persecution and begin new lives in safer countries.

Notably, BMO leveraged its unique capability as a bank (deposits) to drive what it believes in (inclusion). It found a creative analogue that made the support feel native to its brand, giving the campaign a strategic coherence that stood out.

The campaign was a direct response to rainbow-washing – the practice of using LGBTQ+ symbols for marketing without real support behind them. It aimed to flip the script by demonstrating material allyship: every rainbow on display should have tangible value, not just virtue signal. Essentially – they put their money where their mouth is.

Over the first two years of the campaign, 100,000+ rainbow photos were deposited from 600+ cities, with the brand winning an Effie for Marketing Effectiveness and reporting significant increases in brand affinity.

The campaign helped normalise the idea that brands should link Pride visibility with accountability.

Travel is difficult for LGBTQ+ travelers – it’s still illegal to be gay in 65+ countries, and Orbitz saw an opportunity to differentiate itself by championing an underserved segment, addressing real pain points, and celebrating queer travelers.

In 2001, Orbitz became one of the first mainstream travel companies to embrace LGBTQ+ consumers in its advertising, part of a broader strategy that included creating a dedicated LGBTQ+ microsite in order to engage and support vulnerable communities.

And in 2021, it celebrated the 20th anniversary of its initial LGBTQ+ campaign with the ‘Travel As You Are’ initiative.

In the campaign, they made a point to involve LGBTQ+ individuals both in front of and behind the camera. The ad is directed by acclaimed queer photographer/director Cass Bird, features real-life LGBTQ+ couples, and is accompanied by the feminist liberation song “You Don’t Own Me”, reimagined by gay artist serpentwithfeet.

Conceived as a long-term brand platform rather than a fleeting activation, it reasserted Orbitz’s leadership in inclusive travel, connecting to a broader platform of inclusion that included LGBTQ+ friendly hotel filters, LGBTQ+ safety guides, and more.

Instead of just asking the community to ‘travel as they are’, it took action to help them actually do it. This, combined with a 20-year foundation of genuine allyship, gave the message credibility and weight far beyond a typical Pride campaign.

With a 572% increase in site visits and a 5-star rating from System1 for effectiveness, it proved to be a phenomenal case study in authentic, inclusive marketing.

Hair is the #1 way people choose to express themselves, and 60% of LGBTQ+ people change their hair to express their true identity when coming out. This insight inspired Pantene to release Lengths of Strength – an empowering creative celebrating the transformative power of LGBTQ+ people.

Released on International Coming Out Day in 2023, the campaign was built under one core theme: empowerment through self-expression. It communicates that hair has no gender and that Pantene supports “great hair days for everyone”, tying directly to Pantene’s product promise while also standing as a broader statement about identity.

By aligning with stories from real-life members of the LGBTQ+ community, Pantene sought to humanise the brand, build emotional connection, and earn goodwill that could translate long-term preference.

Part of a multi-year initiative, the campaign showed continuity and commitment while tying back to what the brand stands for. It didn’t feel like Pantene was opportunistically jumping on a social cause, but instead releasing a logical extension of its brand promise to give everyone confidence in their hair.

Pantene successfully positioned itself as a brave brand in markets where LGBTQ+ visibility is still suboptimal- such as Eastern and Southern Europe. It managed to deepen its connection with consumers (especially LGBTQ+ youth) and earn cultural capital as an authentic ally – something many brands struggle to do.

The campaign has to feel like a natural extension of what the brand already stood for – that prior actions or understandings of the brand held by consumers gave it the credibility or permission to tell this story.

Evidently, authenticity comes easier when the cause aligns naturally with who your brand has always been. Look at Vaseline – a campaign providing specialised skincare to trans people made sense coming from a brand with a longstanding belief in ‘Healthy Skin For All’.

And with BMO, ‘Rainbow Deposits’ could have only come from a bank – creating an inherent tie between campaign concept and core business that made the execution feel genuine.

Inclusion in ads rings hollow if your external representation isn’t supported by internal representation – all the way from creative to company culture.

This can look like a lot of things. At Vaseline, they co-created their campaign side-by-side with the trans community for years. Rather than imposing a feel-good message from the top down, the brand started by listening to its consumers’ unmet needs.

And at Pantene, they elevated real voices from the community instead of using actors or purely symbolic imagery – acknowledging that no one can tell these stories better than the people with first-hand knowledge.

Showcasing diversity in a natural, story-driven way as opposed to a checkbox approach resonates better with audiences – appealing to the target group while still connecting with a wider audience on a human level. 

Take HSBC, for instance – the brand employed a storytelling style that mixed emotional narratives with practical product messaging. By showing same-sex affection and treating it like it’s no big deal, the ad became an HSBC ad in which a gay couple was included naturally, instead of a “gay ad”. 

In J&B’s case, the brand proved that storytelling wins hearts – using a human story as a refreshing differentiator. It used gentle storytelling to emphasise that everyone deserves to feel welcome and celebrated at Christmas, showing that aligning your brand with a powerful story can boost brand affinity in a lasting way.

Sometimes, allyship means amplifying a cause even if it means not pushing your logo front-and-center, or prioritising community and solidarity over inherently profit-driving activities. This approach can earn your brand deeper respect from the community.

Take Dentsu as an example – by uniting multiple brands and delivering a unified message with substance, the focus was on the cause more than any one brand’s promotion. It felt authentic because brands were willing to share the spotlight for a greater message.

Or with BMO, they decided to involve everyone in their ‘Rainbow Deposits’ campaign – allowing you to deposit a rainbow no matter who you banked with, and even encouraging people to deposit rainbows from other brands’ Pride campaigns.

When releasing an ad – in any cultural or social context – you have to consider where your audience is at that moment. You’re not just putting out a message; you’re stepping into an ongoing conversation, and how you show up matters. 

When HSBC released ‘We Café’ in Hong Kong, they were one of the first ads depicting LGBTQ+ love that was able to avoid overt controversy. How? By focusing on individual stories and shared values that created common ground – addressing hot issues in a manner that feels inclusive of a broad audience.

Similarly, Starbucks’ campaign was able to maximise impact by tying itself to a broader conversation going on across India. Controversial, yes – but representing the target culture’s realities made the otherwise “foreign” concept more relatable domestically.

For LGBTQ+ consumers, the real test of a brand is whether its campaign is backed by tangible, lasting action. Visibility without action is inherently performative. So make your message matter and link visibility to real-world action – whether with donations, policies, or product changes.

Orbitz backed its words up with action – providing LGBTQ+ travelers with concrete product changes and resources that help them in real life. It wasn’t just “watch this ad” but also “we’ve made it easier for you to travel safely” – and consumers noticed.

Dentsu did this financially by facilitating donations from themselves and participating brands. But it also ensured it made structural changes, highlighting internal policies and promoting employee advocacy – all in all, pairing a rainbow flag with real commitments.

Authenticity is built over years – not just with rainbows in June. Consistency means more than running the same campaign each year – it means having policies, platforms, and leadership that reflect your message, and a readiness to commit for the long-haul; inside and out.

J&B’s involvement in Orgullo de Pueblo – a Pride initiative that brought LGBTQ+ celebrations to rural Spanish towns – laid the groundwork by positioning J&B as a champion of inclusion where it’s least expected. ‘She’ was a natural next step.

Similarly, Pantene and Orbitz both have consistently walked the talk. Pantene built the credibility and trust needed for Lengths of Strength to resonate through multi-year brand platforms and external advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights. And Orbitz embedded allyship into the business for 20+ years, making its campaign feel like a natural evolution of its brand story instead of a pandering stunt.

When releasing any campaign – especially those featuring LGBTQ+ representation – you have to be ready to weather negative reactions. Backtracking under pressure doesn’t just undermine your credibility as a brand; it alienates both the community you’re trying to support and the broader public.

Backlash will test your commitment. If your internal teams and values aren’t aligned with your message, the whole thing crumbles. This is why internal resilience matters: leadership buy-in, staff support, and a clear DEI strategy will make your external courage possible.

Starbucks’ campaign is a case in point. After facing a wave of backlash, Starbucks didn’t apologise or withdraw the ad, instead publicly reaffirming its commitment to inclusion and trans visibility. This response wasn’t improvised – it was possible because the campaign was backed by internal alignment and an existing global DEI framework.