Non-profit PFLAG Canada (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) is launching a campaign that uses QR codes in a potent new way. Stories.pflagcanada.ca launched with 14 authentic, raw LGBTA personal video stories, spanning some tough topics, supported by an extensive campaign.
Robin Heisey, CCO of Draftfcb, says that the campaign, called “Stories,” was initially developed as part of its entry at the National Advertising Awards. After winning, the agency and PFLAG Canada marketing board director Mark Childs (also VP marketing, Campbell Canada) decided it should live on as a full-fledged campaign.
“The campaign allows people to share their stories and how we are all connected to the issues that lesbians and gay people face,” says Heisey.
It includes print, television, OOH and digital components showing QR codes over the mouths of people, like famed Canadian dancer and So You Think You Can Dance Canada judge Rex Harrington. The ads all tease with the start of a personal story and then pause (in the case of the video), and prompt use of the QR code to access the full story. The campaign is backed by over half a million dollars of donated media.
Childs, thanking all who contributed, describes the poignant pro-bono campaign as “completely symbolic of what PFLAG Canada does – creating and supporting community through the simple act of sharing a story, in turn to ‘Inspire Change.’”