In the weeks leading up to and during Pride Month, rainbows are everywhere. While it’s an important part of spreading awareness, consumers are increasingly accusing brands of “rainbow-washing” by slapping rainbows on corporate logos and making statements supporting the LGBTQ2SIA+ community without taking real action. (The acronym refers to all of the identities that are outside of heterosexual, cisgender identities. This iteration, used by BMO, stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, 2 Spirit, Intersex, Asexual, and more.)

Support for the LGBTQ2SIA+ community falls within BMO’s larger ‘Zero Barriers to Inclusion 2025’ initiative to address gaps affecting Black, Indigenous, People of Colour, Latinx, and LGBTQ2SIA+ employees, customers, and communities. In 2022, BMO wanted to build brand affinity and show its values by taking a different approach to Pride month that showed that surface-level gestures of solidarity are not the same as tangible actions.

BMO hijacked rainbows across North America and turned a symbol of Pride into real action by doing what only a bank could do: allowing people to “deposit” photos of rainbows on their phone. BMO developed a first-of-its-kind web app that allowed users to take a picture of a rainbow, any brand’s rainbow, then upload it so it could be hijacked and deposited as a $1 donation, funded by BMO, to the Rainbow Railroad. BMO then used data visualization to create a “rainbow deposit box,” which showcased the vast array of meaningless rainbows used by brands during Pride that don’t provide any support for the LGBTQ2SIA+ community.

Rainbows are a symbol that signifies safety and support for the LGBTQ2SIA+ community, but the overuse for commercial gain during Pride has started to chip away at their true meaning. With the increase of rainbow washing, and the predominantly performative actions taken by brands, it became clear to BMO that not every rainbow translates into tangible action that lifts the LGBTQ2SIA+ community, removes barriers to their financial equality, makes them feel accepted, or keeps them safe.

So, BMO partnered with the Rainbow Railroad, an international non-profit organization that brings hundreds of highly at-risk LGBTQ2SIA+ people facing persecution to safety every year. BMO’s goal was to make a tangible difference for the community.

BMO created a mass media campaign to call on LGBTQ2SIA+ community members and their allies to capture and deposit all the rainbows they could see throughout the summer. BMO even let people become walking billboards for the campaign, allowing them to deposit selfies of themselves in their rainbow colours. BMO used branch signage, window decals, and OOH ads to place more rainbows in public spaces to build momentum. We drove awareness with hard-working traditional media placements and with QR code stickers in public spaces and in Pride-themed window displays of local businesses. Drag queens and famous LGBTQ2SIA+ identifying influencers in Toronto and Montreal shared online content to spread awareness and encourage participation in the initiative. To increase the campaign’s exposure, BMO also showcased the campaign across BMO's different sponsorship properties on their specific Pride Night events, including the TFC, CF Montreal, the Vancouver Whitecaps, and the Calgary Stampede.

BMO turned rainbows into action and had a real impact on the community. Not only did Rainbow Deposits shine a light on the brands who think putting rainbows on their packaging makes them allies of the community, they turned every performative rainbow into an ad unit reinforcing the campaign’s purpose. The innovative first-of-its-kind initiative provided value and meaning to every rainbow. By generating 50,000 deposits, which triggered a $50,000 donation from BMO, we were able to raise enough funding for the Rainbow Railroad to bring five people from the LGBTQ2SIA+ community to safety from violence and persecution.

Additional campaign results include:

Over 50,000 rainbows were deposited during the campaign

BMO donated $50,000 to the Rainbow Railroad

TFC donated an additional $10,000 as part of their special Pride Night game

Rainbows from 312 different brands were deposited

Participation from over 2,000 cities across North America