Sir Elton John, multiple-Grammy award winning superstar and Founder of the Elton John AIDS Foundation has been transformed into an LGBT-QR code – a brand new blend of photography and digital innovation designed to drive charitable donations. His image will appear on thousands of billboards alongside Pride marches across the UK and Europe.
In a world-first, the Elton John AIDS Foundation partnered with creative agency, Ogilvy, and leading Out of Home media owners, Clear Channel, to use Sir Elton John’s image as the face of an innovative new fundraising platform.
LGBT-QR Codes are a fundraising mechanic where functional monochrome QR codes are transformed into visually striking images. Appearing in European and UK cities and alongside Pride march routes throughout the Summer, each LGBT-QR Code takes people to a donation page for the charity.
Elton’s face has appeared on album covers, tour posters and all sorts of fabulous merchandise – but a QR code is certainly a first! With the support of Ogilvy UK and Clear Channel, we are thrilled to have been able to create a meaningful and purposeful fundraising platform in celebration of Pride month that drives the Foundation’s mission forward in overcoming stigma and hate. – David Furnish
“The LGBTQ+ community is disproportionately vulnerable to HIV. In too many places discrimination and criminalisation stops people from coming forward for the HIV information and treatment that has already saved so many lives. This is an issue of freedom and equality that the Elton John AIDS Foundation fights every day” said Anne Aslett, CEO of the Elton John AIDS Foundation. “Having the chance via these high-trafficked billboards to spread a message that PRIDE means not just solidarity, but donations, to help us secure equality everywhere is incredibly valuable to our mission and the good that we can do”
With thousands of out-of-home screens becoming donation touchpoints, powered by LGBT-QR codes, aligning allyship and fundraising through one platform couldn’t be simpler.
“Everyone got used to QR codes during the pandemic, so we spotted an opportunity to use creativity to transform something quite dull into something quite fantastic,” said Matt Waksman, Brand Strategy Partner at Ogilvy. “Who better to partner with than one of the world’s most recognised LGBTQ icons, Sir Elton John?”
Louise Stubbings, Partnerships and Creative Director at Clear Channel UK, says: “Partnering with Ogilvy UK and the Elton John AIDS Foundation for Pride this year has been incredibly special for us. It is rare to see innovation, creativity and purpose used so seamlessly to deliver such an engaging campaign. We are so excited to see it taking pride of place across our Out of Home screens in the UK and Europe to celebrate Pride whilst also using our public medium to help drive donations for such a worthwhile cause.”
