OkCupid launches #LoveAtFirstPride to celebrate LGBTQ+ stories

To ring in this month of pride, OkCupid launched #LoveAtFirstPride, a digital campaign, to celebrate love beyond binary identities. 

This pride month, OkCupid reached out to members of the LGBTQ+ community to bring to light stories that are just coming out — first dates, first decisions, first moments, first courage, first change, first freedom, first acceptance.

With 55% men and 82% women on the app expressing support for gay marriage and an average of 79% expressing deep support for LGBTQ issues, India is taking early steps towards celebrating diversity and individuality. While we are seeing that across the world, there is growing respect and acceptance for people to express themselves.

The idea behind this campaign is to celebrate this freedom which extends to all gender identities. This has been captured in the video with LGBTQ+ influencers answering questions like, ‘How much would you reveal about yourself on a first date?, ‘What are your views on moving on with your partner?’ and ‘What are your thoughts on PDA?’. These questions are loud and the answers are surely proud. Sometime back, people would not be outrightly asking or hearing from the LGBTQ+ community on these questions, especially on public platforms. But the times have changed.

"With 13 sexual orientations, 22 gender options and over 3000 questions on the platform, we make sure our users are matched with people on the same wavelength as you. This pride month, we join hands with the LGBTQ+ community to celebrate #LoveAtFirstPride, bringing the joy of love in every shade of the rainbow," says Melissa Hobley, CMO, OkCupid.

One of the influencers in the video is Pratul Narang, a 25-year-old media professional who quit his dream job to pursue his dream of becoming a writer, producer and host.

Lauren Robinson, another influencer featured in the video is an actor and theatre-maker, says, “I participated in this campaign because I like to share parts of me through the projects I take up. For the first time, it encouraged many sides of myself to be discussed and have fun in the process. My expectations from campaigns like these are to embrace everything as a norm, rather than try to be different.”

Commenting further on the campaign, Kabir Kochhar, Founding Partner, The Glitch says, “Our intent was to bring forth real experiences by real individuals, driving home the truth that Love is Love regardless of sexual orientation. We are encouraged by the overwhelming number of heartfelt responses we have received on this campaign, reminding us that when a brand brings forth authentic stories, the impact will always be outsized.”