The brand has always believed in a world without biases and promoted inclusivity and diversity, which lie at the core of its principles. As a testament to it’s philosophy, the brand has supported the LGBTQIA+ community for over 40 years, encouraging individuals to express themselves freely. This Pride Month, Absolut Glassware launches its first ever Pride campaignin India – ‘Be an #AbsolutAlly’.
The “BE AN ABSOLUT ALLY” campaign was developed following in-depth interactions with diverse people from within the LGBTQIA+ community in India to understand their lived experiences, stories and perspectives. This was further aligned with a deeper cultural and digital scan. The big learning from the research was that despite progress being made on the legal front, little has changed at the societal and familial level for the community. Even though there is some representation in pop culture, there is still a fair bit of ignorance towards the realities of queer people in India. Hence, the need to sensitize cis-het people and enable them to be stronger and more trustworthy allies of the LGBTQIA+ community became the need of the hour. Therein, the idea of being an #AbsolutAlly was born.
The campaign has been co-created with 10 voices chosen from across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum including names such as Dutee Chand, Durga Gawde, Patruni Sastry, Jay Anand, Alex Matthew, Aniruddha Mahale, Maitrayanee Mahanta, Anwesh Sahoo and Anjali Lama. It features their own real-life stories narrated by them in a candid fashion, covering topics such as family acceptance, the usage of pronouns and other assumptions and stereotypes that the community often faces. Additionally, the campaign features personal anecdotes to highlight instances where they felt a lack of support and the absence of a strong ally in their life.
An important aspect of the #AbsolutAlly campaign is to walk the talk and create a meaningful impact for the community in the club and bar ecosystem that the brand inhabits. To manifest this, Absolut Glassware has collaborated with Mr Bartender & The Crew, India’s first bar academy for women (especially those from less privileged backgrounds, victims of human trafficking, and ex-prison inmates) and members of the LGBTQIA+ community, to create safe spaces through sensitization workshops across the country. This initiative kicks off in January 2023 and aims to be an on-going program targeting 100 bars in its first leg.
Absolut Glassware is also conducting Pride nights in key metros Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, Gurgaon, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Kolkata. The intent is to celebrate members of the LGBTQIA+ community and their allies. The brand aims to make the nights memorable and celebratory with drag performances and artists from the community.
Be a part of Absolut Glassware’s Pride initiative and stay updated about various activities as a part of it, please visit:
Link to the digital films: https://www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2h0OjE4MDA2NTg0Mjk5NTM0NDY5?story_media_id=3013348670887371617_56445542716&igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=
