Mr President and Stonewall, one of the prize winners of Ocean’s 2019 Digital Creative Competition, have created a campaign which provides support to isolated members of the LGBT community during the Covid-19 crisis.

Stay In and #ComeOutforLGBT goes live today (June 24) on Landsec’s iconic Piccadilly Lights, a landmark which has fast become the nation’s noticeboard during lockdown.

To create their campaign, Stonewall has invited community members to take part and show their support, proving that even though they can’t take to the streets to show their Pride, they can still #ComeOutforLGBT.

Developed for the charity by Mr President, the work combines uplifting real-life “lockdown” stories from the LGBT community with silent messages from Stonewall allies including Sandi Toksvig and Gok Wan.

Stonewall says it has received reports of many LGBT people experiencing hardships in isolation such as being cut off from other LGBT people, being stuck inside with an abuser or being elderly and unable to access LGBT-inclusive support networks during the lockdown period.

Lucy Devine, director of communications, Stonewall said: “Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, we’ve heard some truly harrowing stories from LGBT people about the difficulties they’ve faced while in lockdown. Whether that’s spending lockdown in unsupportive or abusive environments, losing work or not being able to access healthcare services, LGBT people have been hit hard by the pandemic. We wanted to do this project with Mr President to show LGBT people who are feeling isolated that they aren’t alone, and there are so many people out there who support them.

“Even though many of the Pride events we all love have been postponed or cancelled that doesn’t make Pride season any less important. Pride is about coming together in celebration, unity and solidarity, and that spirit is still very much needed. The Black Lives Matter movement in the US and around the globe is a powerful reminder that Pride was and continues to be a protest for equality and liberation for all of us who are oppressed. True equality is a collective struggle. So Pride will continue to be an act of defiance where we fight for the equality of every LGBT person – from all backgrounds – be that race, gender, class or disability. So please join us and #ComeOutForLGBT today and every day.”

Director of Ocean Labs Catherine Morgan said: “With an absence of global Pride parades and live events this year, what better way to send a message of solidarity and inspiration to the LGBT community? Mr President and Stonewall were worthy winners of Ocean’s Digital Creative Competition. Restrictions prevented us from carrying their original winning idea, but this campaign is equally as powerful.”

This year’s annual Digital Creative competition has been postponed to 2021. However it has been replaced with the Crucial Creative Competition to help rally advertisers, brands and agencies into action as the Covid-19 crisis begins to ease.

The deadline for entries is June 30 and three winning entries will be displayed across Ocean’s premium portfolio from July, sharing a prize fund of £1 million.

Full entry details can be found at oceanoutdoor.com/crucialcreative

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