Celebrating Diversity In Love
June was the first pride month in India since the Supreme Court’s historic decision to strike down Article 377 in September 2018. To mark the occasion, OkCupid, the dating platform, reached out to members of the LGBTQ+ community to bring to light stories that are just coming out — first dates, first decisions, first moments, first courage, first change, first freedom, first acceptance. To ring in this historic month of pride, the brand launched its latest digital campaign, #LoveAtFirstPride to celebrate love beyond binary identities. To celebrate the stories that come to life every day, OkCupid created a video capturing three diverse answers to questions on the app. Every answer presents the joy and freedom experienced by the LGBTQ+ community in their pursuit of meaningful connections.
Explaining the concept behind the campaign, Melissa Hobley, CMO, OkCupid says, “The most beautiful, meaningful and rewarding connections are formed when people are able to identify and are celebrated as their authentic selves. With 13 sexual orientations, 22 gender options and over 3,000 questions on the platform, we make sure our users are matched with people on the same wavelength as you. This pride month, we join hands with the LGBTQ+ community to celebrate #LoveAtFirstPride, bringing the joy of love in every shade of the rainbow. Working with the community and the overwhelming response to the film have filled our hearts with joy and hope.”
With 55 per cent men and 82 per cent women on the app expressing support for gay marriage and an average of 79 per cent expressing deep support for LGBTQ issues, India is taking early steps towards celebrating diversity and individuality. The idea behind this campaign is to celebrate this freedom which extends to all gender identities. This has been captured in the video with LGBTQ influencers 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?’. These questions are loud and the answers are surely proud. Sometime back, people would not be outrightly asking or hearing from the LGBTQ community on these questions, especially on public platforms. But the times have changed.
Commenting further on the campaign, Kabir Kochhar, Founding Partner, The Glitch says, “The #LoveatFirstPride campaign is the manifestation of OkCupid and The Glitch’s core values of inclusivity and authenticity. Our intent was to bring forth real experiences by real individuals, driving home the truth that Love is Love regardless of sexual orientation. We couldn’t have found a better partner to make this film with, because of OkCupid’s core philosophy of making meaningful connections cuts across all barriers. We are encouraged by the overwhelming number of heartfelt responses we have received on this campaign, reminding us that when a brand brings forth authentic stories, the impact will always be outsized”.
