The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is the world’s biggest celebration of the LGBTIQ+ community. And in a world that was keeping us all apart, TikTok invited the world to #JoinOurFloat and be transported into a branded live entertainment experience that was broadcast on primetime to over 17 million people worldwide. Each person who joined our float became part of our Mardi Gras parade with a TikTok dance challenge choreographed by Broadway legend Leah Howard and performed with Aussie music sensation G-Flip, with a custom produced track “Queen” that inspired our entire float.

In 2021, the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras was different. The once-glorious parade was being moved to a sit-down event within the Sydney Cricket Ground due to COVID-19. The parade now resembled a halftime show moreso than the rollicking parades through Oxford Street.

For TikTok, a major partner of the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, and champion of inclusion, the challenge was to help keep the event open to everyone, despite our borders closed. To support the community we celebrate on-platform and truly live up to our brand values of acceptance, diversity and equality to life.

The key client objectives included:

Reinforce TikTok’s status as a platform championing diversity and inclusion

Maximise the partnership in or around the parade

In a COVID-19 time of limited numbers, #JoinOurFloat was an invitation to the world to come together and celebrate Mardi Gras on a float with unlimited numbers.

The campaign came to life through a challenge on TikTok, bringing the global community on the journey to be a part of the biggest celebration of love and acceptance for the LGBT community. Everyone who stepped up to the challenge, stepped onto our float through 18 live-synched screens that became portals of world-wide support in real-time.

TikTok kept the party afloat, literally, as queer icon ‘G-Flip’ performed her song ‘Queen’ for the headlining act, backed up with all the TikTokkers of the world, live on parade.

TikTok Australia was one of five major co-presenting partners for The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras 2021. As part of this partnership, we wanted to activate both on and off the TikTok platform in the lead-up to Mardi Gras as well as on the night of the event. With TikTok seen as a safe space for the community we leveraged the power of our creators and strong LGBTQIA+ presence to demonstrate our commitment to championing diversity and inclusion across all demographics and identities.

Though based in Australia; the Sydney event was in a unique situation as being the only Mardi Gras event being run in a COVID-19 afflicted world. With eyes on the event and LGBTQIA+ members and allies all over wanting to take part, we needed to create a movement that would allow everyone on TikTok and around the world to be able to join our activation.

In the lead up to the annual Mardi Gras event, we created the #JoinOurFloat campaign and live activation, launching with a dance challenge going to the global TikTok audience a month before the event. It came to life solely across TikTok owned channels with a TopView ad and Discover page banner, while being seeded out through influencers of the LGBT community.

The challenge took off, creating a movement in itself, with tens of thousands joining in from around the world to be a part of the live event on the TikTok float, while the performance was backed up by headlining act and queer icon; G-Flip, performing her song Queen, capturing a whole new fanbase.

The performance earned 3 mins of prime time branded broadcast which was watched by over 17 million people worldwide.

Our entertainment spectacle was broadcast globally on primetime television as well as live streamed from G-Flip’s TikTok account to fans across the globe. It not only generated media attention:

- Our Hashtag was viewed almost 25 million times

- With over 100 hours of dance challenge UGC submitted

- Over 3 mins of prime-time branded broadcast

- Watched by over 17 million people world wide

- G-Flip’s single “Queen” skyrocketed 30 spots up the music charts, becoming the new anthem of the queer community