Equality California Institute (EQCA)
The gap between those who favored marriage equality and those who did not was smaller than ever. But while the gap may have been relatively narrow, the climb was still steep. Our goal was to increase support for marriage equality, as well as empathy toward LGBT individuals and same-sex couples. Based on research developed by our partner, Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, our core idea was to create an emotional connection with those who were conflicted about marriage and LGBT equality and persuade them to resolve their conflict in favor of marriage. We needed to understand where they were coming from and implicitly acknowledge their conflict — without validating their anti-same-sex marriage opinions. We called upon their higher values of fairness, tolerance, privacy and empathy, and in doing so, helped them shift away from their negative feelings and fears about LGBT individuals and same-sex marriage.
The core idea behind the campaign tagline, “Let California Ring,” was simple: The majority within the target takes the right to marriage for granted. Through various executions, DDB Issues & Advocacy explored what it might be like if this basic right was taken away from all of us — gay and “straight.” We wanted to instill a sense of pride in the target audiences: Let California be the state that stood true to its citizens’ values of tolerance and justice. Let California Ring.
We created a 60-second spot titled “Garden Wedding.” It opens on a large outdoor wedding taking place in an enclosed garden setting. Cut to the inside of a pair of closed French doors that lead into the garden. A father and his daughter — the bride — are standing before the closed doors. The procession music begins; the dad looks at his daughter and reaches for the doors. He pulls at the door and the doorknob comes off. With nowhere to turn, he has to pry open the door by hand. On their way to the open garden filled with people, the bride breaks the heel of her shoe and has her veil knocked off by the archway. The bride and father brush themselves off and start walking down the aisle toward an anxious groom. The flower girl jumps on the bride and has to be pulled off so the bride can continue walking down the aisle. The bride is then tripped by someone in the congregation and falls down.
SUPER: What if you couldn’t marry the person you love?
ART CARD: Every day, gay and lesbian couples are prevented from marrying.
Support the freedom to marry.
To support the television spot, we also designed the www.letcaliforniaring.org website that pointed those who supported marriage equality in the direction of opportunities to have an impact on the issue.
On May 15, 2008, California’s Supreme Court struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, ruling that sexual orientation, like race or gender, “does not constitute a legitimate basis upon which to deny or withhold legal rights.” Less than two weeks after the decision, public opinion polling showed that California voters agreed by a slim majority (51–42 percent) that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry.