Each year during Pride, brands around the world take the opportunity to show support by featuring the Pride flag in their ads, on their packaging and sometimes even on their products. This has resulted in a sea of Rainbow-washing where we have forgotten what the flag even stood for to begin with. This year, H&M wanted to show solidarity in a way that doesn’t get lost in the sea of rainbow flags, and remind everyone why we celebrate Pride in the first place.

For Pride 2021, H&M hijacked every Pride rainbow in the world and turned them into a portal for incredible and inspiring stories from the LGBTQIA+ community. How? By creating a first-of-its-kind mobile web experience that allowed a viewer to point their smartphone camera at any Pride flag and scan it to reveal a variety of intimate portraits from individuals in the LGBTQI+ stories, revealing why pride matters to them. This Rainbow Recognition technology, as we like to call it, makes it possible to scan any Pride rainbow — and we mean any — from real flags to rainbow donuts, stickers, masks, t-shirts and, yes, lots and lots of ads. Instead of creating rainbow colored merch for H&M, we created an innovative campaign that peels back the rainbow to show the real stories behind it.

This campaign began with addressing the elephant in the room: that while putting a rainbow for Pride was once a breakthrough step for a brand, that it was simply not good enough anymore. More recently, the Pride flag has become a mainstream symbol used by countless individuals, companies and brands to show their support for the LGBTQI+ community. However, in the process, a type of Rainbow-washing has occurred and the flag has lost some of its meaning. Pride is more than a party. It’s a deeply personal movement and a fight for rights, respect, support, sexuality, love and life itself. If you look closely, that’s what you’ll find beyond the rainbow.

It was important for us to reach as many people as possible. As mobile-scanning has recently become very intuitive for the masses, we took advantage of this technology for people to access these stories with ease and excitement.

A minimalist approach with an anti-rainbow washing message reminded the world of everything the movement stands for and why the community continues to fight. Harnessing new technologies the campaign encouraged people to take out their mobile phones and scan any Pride flag they see, whatever form, to discover the stories “Beyond the rainbow.”

Mobile technology harnessed Machine Learning allowing users to scan any object containing a rainbow pattern with their smartphone camera. Breaking from the QR mold this solidified the point that all rainbows carry a story to be heard. The Machine Learning component was developed from scratch, becoming an important task to create a truthful experience that could precisely demonstrate the subject while proving the point that the rainbow symbol stands for something powerful and true.

The campaign launched on H&M’s Website, App, SoMe channels, influencer accounts, print and GIPHY pack, globally between 28th May - 30th September 2021.

The campaign achieved impressive PR reach across various markets and media, including Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, Esquire and more.

- A total of 328 editorial articles in 22 markets

- The coverage had an ad value of EUR1.2 million and a potential reach of 32.1 million readers

- 95% of the online articles covering the campaign were positive in tone, a very high figure given that Pride campaigns and collections are prone to stir debate on exploitation of the LGBTQIA+ community

- In articles covering the issue of “pink/rainbow washing”, H&M’s campaign was included as an authentic, credible and positive campaign

Overwhelmingly positive mentions across all media and channels including:

95% positive mentions overall

13,100 social media posts with a reach of 49.3 million with personal stories from a LGBTQIA+ community as a cornerstone

+295% mentions compared to H&M’s previous Pride campaign

Influencer Instagram posts contributed with a reach of 7.2M