2023 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

In the weeks leading up to and during Pride Month, rainbows are everywhere. While it’s an important part of spreading awareness, consumers are increasingly accusing brands of virtue-signalling and rainbow-washing by slapping rainbows on corporate logos and making statements supporting the LGBTQ2SIA+ community without taking any real action. Increased consumer fatigue highlighted the need for organizations to be authentic during their campaigns and through the support they offer during Pride Month and beyond.

Support for the LGBTQ2SIA+ community falls within BMO’s larger ‘Zero Barriers to Inclusion 2025’ initiative to address gaps affecting Black, Indigenous, People of Colour, Latinx, and LGBTQ2SIA+ employees, customers, and communities. BMO understood that surface-level gestures of solidarity are not the same as tangible actions. BMO wanted to build brand affinity and show its values by finding a way to hijack the Pride rainbow, a ubiquitous and obligatory symbol of Pride Month, and create a tangible action that supports the community year-round.

With the increase of rainbow washing, it was clear to BMO that not every rainbow translates into tangible action that lifts the LGBTQ2SIA+ community, removes barriers to their financial equality, makes them feel accepted, or keeps them safe.

BMO hijacked rainbows across Canadian and US markets, allowing people to deposit a rainbow the same way they deposit a cheque. BMO developed a first-of-its-kind web app that allowed users to take a picture of a rainbow, any brand’s rainbow, and then upload it to the app so that it could be hijacked and deposited as a $1 donation to the Rainbow Railroad. Then, BMO used data visualization to compile deposited rainbows into a Rainbow Deposit Box, demonstrating the actual value of the rainbows deposited in real time. BMO helped take real action in a way that had never been done before, turning every rainbow from performative activism into an action that made a real difference for the community.

Every rainbow also became an ad unit reinforcing the brand’s purpose. BMO created a mass media campaign to call on LGBTQ2SIA+ community members and their allies to capture and deposit all the rainbows they saw. BMO even let people become walking billboards for the campaign, allowing them to deposit photos of themselves wearing rainbows. BMO used branch signage, window decals, and OOH ads to place more rainbows in public spaces to build momentum.

They drove awareness with hard-working online videos and social media placements. QR code stickers in public spaces and in Pride-themed window displays of local businesses engaged passersby. Guerilla-style decals in public spaces reminded people to capture nearby rainbows. Drag queens and LGBTQ2SIA+ identifying influencers in key markets shared online content to spread awareness and encourage participation. To increase exposure, BMO also showcased the campaign across their sponsorship properties at their Pride events, including TFC, CF Montreal, Vancouver Whitecaps, and the Calgary Stampede.

BMO turned rainbows into action and had a real impact on the community. Not only did Rainbow Deposits shine a light on the brands who think putting rainbows on their packaging makes them allies of the community, but they also turned every performative rainbow into an ad unit reinforcing
the campaign’s purpose.

The innovative first-of-its-kind initiative provided value and meaning to every rainbow. By generating 50,000 deposits, which triggered a $50,000 donation from BMO, they were able to raise enough funding for the Rainbow Railroad to bring five people from the LGBTQ2SIA+ community to safety from
violence and persecution.

Over 50,000 rainbows were deposited during the campaign. $50,000 was donated by BMO to the Rainbow Railroad. TFC donated an additional $10,000 as part of their Pride Night game and rainbows from 312 different brands were deposited. There was participation from over 2,000 cities across North America.

Credits

BMO:
Head, Brand, Enterprise Social and Content: Jennifer Carli
Director, Brand Management & Enterprise Marketing: Jennifer Larson
Sr Manager, Enterprise Marketing & Social Impact Content: Danielle O’Hanley
Marketing Manager, Brand & Sponsorship Advertising: Ann-Marie Beauchemin
FCB:
CCO: Nancy Crimi-Lamanna
ECD: Jeremiah McNama & Andrew MacPhee
Sr Copywriter: Caleb McMullen
Sr Art Director: Hussein Rumaithi
Creatives: Nimy Leshinski, Les Soos, JP De Leon, Adam Tuck, Ariel Riske, Marie-Christine Lessard
& Olivier Laplante
EVP, GM: Tracy Little
VP, Managing Director: Tim Welsh
VP, Client Service Lead: Erin Howes
Account Director: Leore Davids
Account Director: Ali Gayowski
Account Supervisor: Lauryn Richards
Account Supervisor: Sophia R’Bibo
Account Director: Michael Watier
Account Executive: Élizabeth Breault
CSO: Shelley Brown
Strategy Director: Stephanie Gyles
Sr Strategist: Ally Dwyer-Joyce
456 Studios
Broadcast Producer: Tania Overholt
Integrated Producer: Anastasia Gal
Integrated Producer: Daniel Rankin
I Am Static
Creative Director: Ron Gervais
Creative Director/ VFX/3D Artist: Dave Greene
VFX/3D Artist/Compositor/AD: Steven Hollman
VFX/3D Artist: Chris Crozier
VFX Compositor: Rob Del Ciancio
Compositor: Julia Deakin
Exec Producer: Cathy Jefferies
Married to Giants
Editor: Nick Yumul
Asst. Editor: Parnika Raj
Exec Producer: Tanja Harney
Oso Audio
Creative Director: Daenen Bramberger
Asst. Engineer: Omid Geadizadeh
Exec Producer: Hannah Graham
Producer: Lauren Dobbie
UM Canada
Manager, Connection Planning: Marc-Andre Giasson
Director, Connection Planning: Fahmida Islam
Sr Planner, Connection Planning: Carolyn Hughes
Sr Manager, Portfolio Management: Lauren Klehammer
REPRISE Canada
Associate Director, Social: Shannon Stone
Campaign Manager, Social: Sami Le
Creative Strategist: Darrell Evans
Content Manager: Annelie Gutgesell
Glossy PR
Shannon Stephaniuk