Gmhc: Canada

Credits & Description:

Agency: FCB Health
Brand:Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC)
EVP, Chief Creative Officer: Rich Levy
EVP, Group Creative Director: Mike Devlin
Creative Directors: Marissa Kraft, Cameron Pollard
Creatives: Eduardo Balloussier, Luiz Guimarães
Producer: Mary Ann Guglietta
Production Company: Zombie Studio
Creative Director: Paulo Garcia
Photographer: Nano Cunha
Retouching: Evandro Malgueiro / Zombie Studio
Published: June 2018
Synopsis:
Many countries, including the US and Canada, claim to support LGBTQ rights. But they do not deliver equality when gay and bisexual men show up at blood donation centers. Blood donation is still not seen as a right. This is even more maddening when you consider that purchasing blood is the second biggest expenditure for hospitals (behind salaries).
The campaign addresses the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) lifetime ban on gay, bisexual and transgender male blood donors, which now requires a 12-month period of celibacy prior to donation. A UCLA Williams Institute study found that lifting the ban could save up to a million lives annually, with an estimated 850,000 pints of blood. Not only does the updated ban exacerbate the growing issue of blood shortage, it infringes on the civil rights of would-be donors within the GBT community.
FCB Health is proud to celebrate LGBTQ Pride Month and continue its ongoing commitment to “Blood Equality” – a pro bono advocacy and awareness campaign in partnership with the Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC) – through the launch of “Blood Flags.”
“Blood Flags” addresses the conditional support that many countries show toward the LGBTQ community in preserving and promoting its rights. Many countries, including the U.S., Australia, Canada, Brazil and Germany, endorse the fight for equality in marriage, schools, the workplace and housing, yet discriminatory criteria for blood donation remain. FCB Health and GMHC thus created “Blood Flags” to bring attention to this disparity and inspire reform.