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
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