Orci reposted this
I was beyond honored when Ad Age guest editor Diego Andrade reached out for me to contribute to their Pride Month 2024 Honoring Creative Excellence package, for which members of the LGBTQ creative community write about pivotal projects or turning points in their careers. Here’s a snippet of my essay to wet your whistle – link to the full piece below: "I was terrified—but compelled by the forces within, I stole the gay magazine. “The millennium had come and gone and everything was fine, I guess? I was a doe-eyed, goody-two-shoed 16-year-old, and my parents had taken us on a highly anticipated trip to San Francisco. As a working-class family, we rarely took trips, let alone going cross-country, so there was a lot of excitement about spending a few days on the West Coast. "For me, there was an added layer—a secret thrill that thrummed with each anticipatory heartbeat: We were going to the Gay City. Sure, my hometown of New York was also a hugely gay city, but San Francisco was like the shining disco ball on the hill. As I’d started to interrogate my gay identity as a teen, the idea of being in such a queer-forward locale made my head swim even as any actual understanding of what that even meant eluded me..." Find it what it DID mean, WHY I stole that gay magazine, and HOW this all connects to queer representation in marketing and advertising at the link below! ✨ Super special thanks to Diego, Jairo Araya Barrantes, Mary Cirincione and the teams at AdWeek and Orci whjo provided this incredible opportunity in addition to be kind, gracious editors. And of course my eternal gratitude to Matt Tumminello and Bob Friedman for their feedback, both with this essay and always. 💗 Happy Pride all! 🏳️🌈 #LGBTQ #advertising #SeeAll ANA AIMM