Ahead of the 2019 State of the Union Address by President Trump, Logo aimed to offer an alternative State of the Union, one for the LGBTQ+ community. The goal was to reach as many eyes as possible across social media and on-air. With LGBTQ+ rights at risk or under attack by the Trump Administration, and with the increasing record of trans homicides each year, we wanted to remind the LGBTQ+ community that the state of its union is strong, and that we can fight hatred with love and strength.
Our strategy was to create a powerful piece of content that would be informative and reassuring on the day of President Trump’s State of the Union Address. We wanted the speaker to be an icon and leader in the community – activist and Broadway and television star Billy Porter was the perfect choice. Similar to his role as master of ceremonies Pray Tell on FX’s hit show Pose, Porter was our Commander in Chief and brought statistics, facts and news to life in an inspiring and informative speech that sought to offer comfort to the LGBTQ+ community and a call to organize for the fight ahead.
We posted a tease across social media on February 4th announcing that Porter would debut his LGBTQ State of the Union address the next day, ahead of the President’s. The full address premiered on February 5th on Facebook, YouTube, IGTV, Twitter and LogoTV.com, as well as a promo on-air on Logo during the time of premiere. Porter gave an impassioned and dignified speech touching on a variety of subjects that directly impact the LGBTQ+ community, both here and abroad. He looked back over the past year, highlighting recent triumphs including the most diverse class of elected officials in U.S. history and the rise in LGBTQ representation in entertainment. He also spoke of setbacks like the uptick in hate crimes against LGBTQ individuals in the U.S. And he looked ahead, noting the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots.
Sentiment was overwhelmingly positive. The video garnered 204K views and 6.6K engagements across platforms, with people replying that it was inspiring, beautiful, and far better than Trump’s State of the Union. Porter also remarked how he was “happy to do it.” The project was a success in reminding the LGBTQ+ community that we’re here, we’re queer, and we’re not going anywhere.
