Wise Friend, Fierce Defender.
As AARP’s LGBTQ+ Agency of Record, we were put in charge for their Pride Month initiative. I creative directed and lead a multi-channel campaign to celebrate and highlight the legacy of Pride through historical queer figures. The campaign’s core component was an “Enter to Win” sweepstakes, giving participants the chance to attend the opening of the Stonewall Memorial.
Graphic Design: Dale Macauley
The Strategy
In my role, I worked with my designers and strategists to craft a cohesive brand and campaign strategy, ensuring consistency across platforms while tapping into the spirit of the LGBTQ movement. The visual elements—tailored to align with AARP’s messaging and slogan “Wise Friend, Fierce Defender”—combined compelling illustrations with a historical narrative that honored key queer figures.
Making it joyful.
The queer community lives with the difficulties that come from their identities every day. The Pride campaign focused on the support and love that the queer communities have for one another.
Journey to Stonewall
Through strategic storytelling, thoughtful art direction, and targeted social media activation, the membership website received over 55,000 unique visitors at a 32% conversion rate, strengthening AARP’s position as an advocate for intersectional communities.
Honoring those who worked for our future:
My team and I worked to come up with a list of historical figures to reimagine in illustration, and ended up highlighting Bayard Rustin, Harvey Milk, James Baldwin, Barbara Gittings, Sylvia Rivera, and Edith Windsor. These ads were launched on display, email, and all major social platforms including Yelp to help with localized targeting in the New York area.
