Movistar is a telecommunications company committed to the LGBTQIA+ community for more than 10 years it has always been concerned with generating campaigns that invite reflection. A topic that is part of its communication pillars as it plays a very important role in the violence generated on social networks.

Brief:

The aim was to create a campaign that would portray how realistic and painful homophobia is in Mexican boxing, how viral hate can be on social networks and the struggle that many athletes must live to not reveal their sexuality, as well as attract the attention of the World Boxing Council to generate a change in the sport

Objectives:

Connect with our audience and invite them to reject homophobia and draw the attention of society, as well as sports entities and specialized media (both news and sports) so that the topic is disseminated.

The inspiration for the piece came from true stories of professional boxers who suffered from homophobia throughout their lives. The story of Emile Griffith and Orlando Cruz (the first professional boxer to openly declare his homosexuality) were fundamental to writing the script.

The piece was intended to have high cinematographic values (visual, musical and sound) to stand out from other digital content and capture the viewer's attention in one fell swoop. It was filmed in emblematic locations of Mexican boxing, such as the “Tepito” neighborhood, a place known for the number of champions who came out of its gyms and who were born there.

It sought to challenge very common situations that people of the LGBTQIA+ community experience due to homophobia, such as being rejected by family and friends, suffering from bullying on social networks, enduring violence and discrimination.

Insight

Even a person who is used to getting hit all the time and brave enough to get into a ring can be afraid of homophobia. Because the blows caused by hatred are stronger, and many athletes in contact sports, like boxing, suffer from it every day. A very cultural vision of countries like Mexico.

Key message

Homophobia continues to be a latent problem, especially in boxing. And no matter how much the LGBTQIA+ community is attacked, discriminated against and violated, its pride will never be broken.

Target audience

Young millennials and centennials, who show a greater interest in social issues. According to studies, 76% of Generation Z youth and 73% of millennials consider diversity and inclusion relevant issues.

We launched the online film on Pride Day, since homophobic violence was the main topic of the campaign and used many influencers from the LGBTQIA+ community to share the piece.

Historically, the telecommunications category has not generated an emotional connection in people's lives and has been seen as a utilitarian industry, generating connections only through cables and electronic devices. In this way, any brand in the category has been able to make a cultural impact or have a point of view on any social issue.

With the intention of becoming a brand that has a cultural impact and moving away from a perception of being a utilitarian brand, Movistar identified the opportunity to address the issue of homophobia and cyberbullying in Mexico, given the societal prejudice faced by the LGBTQ+ community, generating a deep and emotional connection with Mexican culture.

Creative Challenge: Establish a brand statement that generates a strong emotional connection with people and the current cultural problems experienced by the LGBT community, making Movistar stop being a utilitarian brand.

Solution: The solution was the "Shout" campaign, a short film partially inspired by Emile Griffith, a renowned gay boxer, which turned the notion of machismo on its head when it said: “I killed a man in the ring and only a few condemned me. I loved another and nobody forgave me”.

Execution: The campaign was executed through a short film released In gay pride month, in the year where homophobic violence was the main topic, leveraging the power of storytelling to prompt viewers to question their biases and prejudices.

Implementation

We launch our Online Film on pride day, in the year where homophobic violence was the main theme of the movement. And we showed it to professional boxers considered legends in the sport, as well as the world boxing president Mauricio Sulaiman.

Timeline

Mayo 21, 2023, a junio 20, 2023.

Placement

The piece was advertised on platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, achieving a very positive response from people, the sports media, international boxers such as Juan Manuel Márquez and the World Boxing Council.

Scale

We decided to tell a very realistic story, for which we set ourselves the goal of finding a very real casting. We didn't want actors, but boxers. And we find a family of boxers where the father, his sons and even the trainer who appear in our Online Film belong to this world.

The sentiment of the brand increased by 57%, and “Shout” became the digital content with the best acceptance in the entire history of the brand, considering that it aired in the second most homophobic country in Latin America with a strong "macho" culture.

Mexican and foreign world boxing champions applauded the campaign and shared it on their social networks.

The impact it had on the news, social and sports media motivated the president of the World Boxing Council to announce a new category for transgender fighters (something historic in this sport), allowing many athletes from the LGBTQIA+ community, for the first time, to have the same rights, to get into the ring and fight with pride.

It even attracted the attention of art institutions, such as the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) to be part of a permanent selection open to the public, with the aim of future generations studying it.

Movistar's attribute of kindness also increased during this period, going up from 60.35% to 66.87%. This was the second-highest increase among the brands evaluated, only behind Unefón.

In terms of social responsibility, Movistar maintained a steady score, moving from 57.67% in 2021 to 59.62% in 2023. Despite a slight increase, it remained competitive, reinforcing its commitment to societal issues like equality and anti-bullying.

Thanks to the "Shout" campaign we increased smartphone sales by 28.5%, comparing the results of Q1 2023 vs 2022. In this way we accompany more people to connect them in the world from the emotional side.