The Cream City Foundation comes out with their Gay Neighbor Campaign.
One of eight billboard designs is placed in more than 20 locations throughout southeastern Wisconsin, including the suburbs and on all the major highways, highlighting the LGBT community. Denise Cawley, media coordinator for the campaign, says they want to show what real gay folks look like.
“The reason behind this campaign is so that all people in Wisconsin can get to know what the gay and transgender communty looks like, by meeting their real neighbors.”
The group had kicked off their first outdoor advertising campaign a year ago, and Cawley says it was well-received, driving a lot of traffic to their website and generating some national press coverage. They re-tested the original billboard messages to see whether this new effort needed tweaking.
“We got the same slogan ‘Family. It’s all about love!’ That’s the one thing everyone saw this campaign really symbolizing. Almost every family, whether they admit it or not, has someone who’s gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender it in.”
Cawley says their first such campaign had sparked feedback from schools, which added more gay-friendly books in their reading programs and libraries. And various employers mentioned how they used workplace tips directly from the campaign website.
The signage is geared toward southeastern Wisconsin, but Cawley says they would love to expand to the remainder of the state … if only they could get the funds. Billboards and bus signs are paid for through the middle of October.