Premium programming service Showtime this week launched its largest-ever Pride campaign, Queer to Stay.

The effort includes a small business preservation initiative in partnership with Human Rights Campaign that expands grants to small LGBTQ+-focused businesses to $250,000. The initiative first launched in 2020 to support and preserve LGBTQ+ businesses impacted by the pandemic with a focus on people of color, transgendered people and women.

This year, Showtime and Human Rights Campaign are expanding the initiative to support at least 25 LGBTQIA+ businesses across the country. Queer to Stay is launching with a grassroots outreach campaign during Pride Month that will have a presence at more than 155 Pride events around the country, including San Francisco’s long-running LGBTQ+ film festival, Frameline, as well as in Mobile, Ala., and Nashville. QTS is also seeking crowdfunding to allow people to support the initiative through the end of 2022.

Queer to Stay is accepting applications from qualifying businesses at QueertoStay.org from Wednesday, June 1 until Saturday, August 31, 2022.

Queer To Stay Small Business Preservation Initiative

During Pride month, Showtime is streaming more than 50 hours of LGBTQ+ programming for free, including select episodes of The L Word, The L Word: Generation Q, Queer as Folk, Work in Progress, XY Chelsea and more across Showtime platforms. To promote the overall effort, Showtime partnered with creative agency Mocean.

Pride

Finally, in celebration of queer artists, Showtime has recruited pop singer-songwriter Vincint for a new single, “Believer (for Showtime Pride),” that is being released exclusively for Showtime Pride 2022 and Queer to Stay.

CREDITS (for Queer to Stay “Pride” spot, above)

Client: Showtime

Creative Director: Kevin Prince

Sr Director AV Production: Diana Roach

Sr Campaign Manager: Eve Seiter

Agency: Mocean

Executive Creative Director: Bryan Dedario

Senior Producer: Taylor Taynton

Editor: Dan Wetherbee, Phoebe Hendrix, Brett Williams

Creative Coordinator: Eric Cheng

VP Client Partnerships: Amy Palmer

Tags: pride queer to stay showtime


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