The Canadian Museum for Human Rights is reminding people about a dark chapter in the history of the federal government.

The organization has unveiled creative tied to an exhibit, Love in a Dangerous Time: Canada’s LGBT Purge, which details how the Canadian government systematically investigated, harassed, and fired 2SLGBTQ+ members of the federal public service, the Canadian Armed Forces and the RCMP.

This official policy, now called “the LGBT Purge,” destroyed thousands of careers and affected countless lives.

“Creating a campaign for this exhibition was challenging on a number of levels,” says Riva Harrison, the museum’s VP of education and public affairs. “It had to resonate with survivors of the purge and meet the objectives of the LGBT Purge Fund, who worked with us to develop and fund the exhibition.”

The work had to both accurately depict a dark period for Canada and stand up to curatorial scrutiny. And, as importantly, it had to connect to and “pique the interest of a much broader audience who, in many cases, didn’t know what the purge was.”

At the heart of the work is a 30-second hero video, depicting a haunting journey through five decades of the LGBT Purge.  Non-video assets include cropped close-ups of the five cast members holding bankers boxes stamped with “national security threat” copy that reads, “For nearly 50 years in Canada being gay could get you fired.” The first launch of the campaign includes social, digital, programmatic, print, OOH and radio.

The narrative of the video unfolds in a single long, government-style hallway, with five individuals representing each decade – from the 1950s to the 1990s.

The museum partnered with its brand AOR, Humanity, on a national campaign to raise awareness.

“Representation mattered in every detail,” says Carolyn Shaw, president and CCO at Humanity. “A diverse cast, Humanity team and production team, including members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, ensured authenticity and sensitivity in bringing this story to life.”

Shaw says the budget for Love in a Dangerous time was slightly less than that of last year’s Beyond the Beat: Music of Resistance and Change exhibit. Foregoing linear TV for the launch helped decrease costs, Shaw says.

The target audience for Love in a Dangerous time skews slightly younger than Beyond the Beat and is focused more on the 2SLGTBQ+ community and its allies, Shaw says.

Campaign creative was led by Humanity and directed by Myles at Revolver Films. Arrivals + Departures Media handled the media buy.