The UK’s first ever Trans+ History Week has launched with a powerful UK-wide advertising campaign, stating clearly that the trans community has ‘always been here, and always will be’.
The brainchild of not-for-profit publisher QueerAF, the groundbreaking initiative – which runs from 6 – 12 May – is aimed at educating and celebrating the rich history of transgender, non-binary, gender-diverse and intersex people.
Backed by celebrity talent and ad industry partners, the UK-wide campaign will highlight the importance of the initiative and throw a spotlight on the rich and powerful history of trans+ communities.
The ad campaign – which features a collage ‘zine aesthetic with the ‘always been here, and always will be’ messaging – was created by a team of trans+ volunteers and allies led by Smarty Pants Consultancy, founded by Marty Davies with stewardship from Uncharted Studio, founded by Laura Jordan Bambach.
Davies, who is also founder of Trans+ History Week, said: “Everyone is talking about trans+ people, but few trans+ people are able to tell our own stories. That’s what Trans+ History Week is here to do.
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“Like trans+ people, advertising is ubiquitous and can also be traced back to ancient times – in Papayrus created in 3000 BCE to be precise. That’s pretty cool. We’ve seen attacks on trans+ people in ads over the past year as mis/dis information demonise our community.
“But trans+ people deserve to see themselves represented authentically in media, and that includes in our advertising. Advertising can and should be a powerful force for good. That’s why I’m especially proud to promote the first Trans+ History Week joyfully in the medium I love, advertising.”
Bambach described the campaign as “ambitious”, adding it has been created by “some of the most incredible talent in the UK”.
“The campaign itself is a series of powerful photographs of objects, people and moments that represent some of the incredible stories through time of trans+ history in a collage style that references the DIY nature of zine subculture, so iconic of trans+ communication of the past,” she added.
A series of OOH posters will put trans+ history front and centre in large public spaces across major cities such as Manchester, Liverpool, London and Newcastle. The campaign will also feature prominently at Box Park Wembley and during a week-long takeover of Westfield South Terrace.
The effort has also been supported by the design team at Hogarth, with media contributed by Ocean, Open Media and Metro through Talon and Havas Media Network UK.
QueerAF founder Jamie Wareham said: “Trans+ History Week was born out of a QueerAF article that quickly became a tool for people to shut down misinformation that – as studies have long disproved – being transgender is not a ‘social contagion’.
He added: “We’ve trusted trans+ creative talent on the content we’ve commissioned for this initiative because, though there are no silver bullets in DEI strategy, hiring and listening to the community you want to serve is as close to finding one as you’ll get.”
Trans+ History Week kicks off at a main event on 7 May with a live podcast recording with the stars of Netflix’s Sex Education Felix Mufti and Anthony Lexa.
