http://youtu.be/eTb-eepjheE
Stonewall, the largest LGBT lobbying organization both in England and on the European Continent, has teamed up with Paddy Power, the Irish bookmaker, for a new advertising campaign entitled “The Changing Room,” to help combat homophobia from both players and fans of soccer. It is a follow-up to last year’s “Right Behind Gay Footballers” campaign and features some of the top stars from Arsenal, one of the top Premiership teams in England, reports TheDrum.com.
The 30-second spot, which features forwards Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain among others, was created by Lucky Generals and M2M and brands pledging support include Premier Inn – which will rebrand to Premier Out for the day – HTC/Carphone Warehouse, Playstation, Sega, Relish Broadband, KLM, Heineken, Pepsico, Lastminute.com, Dr Martens, BT Broadband/BT Sport, Starbucks, Fiat and Jersey Tourism.
The spot will begin airing in British movie houses today followed by its television debut tomorrow, Sept. 6, and according to The Drum, “The activity will build up to the weekend of 13/14 Sept., when footballers across the country will be encouraged to done rainbow laces on their boots to show support.”
Paddy Power said: “We love football (soccer) but it needs a good kick up the ass. In most other areas of life, people can be open about their sexuality and it’s time for football to take a stand and show players it doesn’t matter what team they play for.”
Ruth Hunt, chief executive of Stonewall, added: “Last year’s Rainbow Laces was a great start but there’s still a long way to go to tackle homophobia both on and off the pitch. The clubs and players supporting the campaign and lacing up this weekend are taking a powerful stand against homophobia in our national game.”
Rainbow Laces – #RainbowLaces on Twitter – began last year and hopes to affect long-lasting change in England’s, and Europe’s, national pastime.
