This year has been huge for global drinks maker Diageo, which has run several initiatives to support LGBTQ+ communities, seeing its leadership recognized and celebrated for doing so. That work has continued into the holiday season, this time with its Scotch whisky brand J&B Rare, which has released a Spanish holiday campaign that aims to back trans people during their transitions.
This campaign comes at a time when the rights of queer and trans people are in jeopardy and the community’s support from brands and celebrity ambassadors has come under scrutiny. This has been seen most recently in connection to the 2022 World Cup held in Qatar, where LGBTQ+ rights do not exist. Because of this (and other issues), the host country and those promoting the tournament have been vilified by advocacy groups and allies.
The three-minute holiday spot titled “She, un cuento de J&B”—translated into English as “She, a J&B Tale”—was released over the final week of November in Spain from creative agency El Ruso de Rocky and the production company Agosto.
Directed by Gabe Ibáñez, the aim of the film is to offer insight and a voice for trans people during such a vital moment in their lives.
We want everyone to feel free to celebrate the holidays, giving visibility to a reality that thousands of people face, including the LGBTIQ+ collective who seek a safe space to be and show themselves openly.
Úrsula Mejía-Melgar, marketing director for South Europe at Diageo
The film features an elderly man who borrows his wife’s makeup as he begins to explore his gender expression. Not able to produce the look he wants, he sets out to the local store to buy his own makeup and learns how to use the products in secret. Later, he stops at a bus stop to admire the eye shadow of a model on a poster but looks the other way when another man sits down at the bus stop.
When his family comes over for a holiday gathering, he sees himself in his grandchild—the 26-year-old “Alvaro”— and recognizes that they need support and guidance. He beckons Alvaro to follow him during the gathering, leading them to the bathroom where he teaches them the makeup lessons he has learned from his recent practice.
Alvaro is then presented to the family as “Ana” and she is welcomed by both her mother and father.
At the end, the two raise a glass of J&B to each other to celebrate Ana’s new stage of life.
Playing over is the Elvis Costello cover of “She” from 1999, which was originally recorded for the film Notting Hill.
Explaining the purpose of the film, Úrsula Mejía-Melgar, marketing director for South Europe at Diageo, said: “From J&B we want everyone to feel free to celebrate the holidays, giving visibility to a reality that thousands of people face, including the LGBTIQ+ collective who seek a safe space to be and show themselves openly, but also for families who many times they also suffer the absence of those loved ones who, due to their gender identity or sexual preference, are not present at the parties.”
Diageo’s ongoing LGBTQ+ support
Last month, Diageo’s chief HR officer Louise Prashad and chief marketing officer Cristina Diezhandino were named Top 50 Ally Executives on the Outstanding LGBT+ Role Model Lists by diversity and inclusion organization Involve. This is the eighth consecutive year that executives from the company have been featured on the list due to the inclusive culture the company has developed.
Diezhandino this year saw the Diageo Rainbow Network celebrate Pride with its largest flag-raising event across 85 sites, displaying the flag at distilleries, offices and production sites.
It also launched a partnership with the first national LGBTQ+ museum in the U.K. called Queer Britain and it became a founding sponsor of OutBritain, the U.K.’s first LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce to support businesses owned by members of the community with a target to increase its global spend with diverse-owned businesses to 15% by 2030.
“As part of Diageo’s ongoing commitment to creating a fairer, more inclusive society, we’re honored to support an archive that strives to reinforce that all-important sense of belonging and connection for the community,” commented Conor Brown, chairman of Diageo’s Rainbow Network Group when speaking about the Queer Britain partnership.
Diageo has already run several events this year, including a virtual Drag Bingo Session through its vodka brand Smirnoff for its North America Rainbow Network and a Learning for Life event aimed at upskilling across LGBTQ+ venues held at the Johnny Walker Experience in Edinburgh.
Smirnoff was also a sponsor of Toronto Pride in Canada where—for the first time—the vodka brand’s teams marched alongside The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO).
A happy hour called “Stories That Inspire” was held in Venezuela with Tamara Adrian, the first transgender person elected to office in the country, supported by Diageo’s Gordon’s Gin to share stories of human rights.
Credits:
Brand: J&B Rare
Brand Team: Úrsula Mejía-Melgar, Gustavo Belaustegui, Paula Álvarez, Celia Razola.
Agency: El Ruso de Rocky
Executive Creative Directors: Ángel Torres, Lucas Paulino
Creative Director: Ángela Pacheco
Creative Team: Álvaro Marugán, Alberto Santos, Pita Sagra
Strategy Team: Laura Alfaya, María Moreno
Account Team: Estefanía Gimeno, Paloma Roc
Agency Head of Production: María Iglesias
Production House: Agosto Director: Gabe Ibáñez
Executive Producer Agosto: Belén Gayán
Producer Agosto: Miguel Ángel Fernández Belando
DOP Agosto: Daniela Cajías
1st Assistant Director: Jose Calero
Casting: Mimi Correa, Edrien Guillermo, Miguel Ángel Fernández
Head of Art Agosto: Stephane Carpinelli
Photographer: Víctor Bensusi
Sound: Sonomedia
Music: “She” from Charles Aznavour, version from Chaco
Music Post production: Jacaranda
Media Agency: PHD
