After the success of the October 2022 launch of LGBTQ Herstory Month honoring trans trailblazers, RuPaul’s Drag Race aimed to launch a new version for October 2023 that exceeded the success of the previous year’s installment. The creative aim of this most recent undertaking, would be highlighting and celebrating the amazing Latinx queens that have left an impact on the series and culture due to their participation. The team would gather and photograph 7 iconic queens of Latinx heritage and interview them about the Latinx heroes that inspire them and deserve the platform that RuPaul’s Drag Race has online worldwide. A major goal was to take the learnings of the previous year and build on its success to rollout an even more successful version in 2023. Most importantly, we wanted to educate and inspire younger fans of the show with this incredibly unique and powerful social multimedia stunt.
From simply a logistical standpoint, this project is challenging in the sheer amount of content we are able to capture in a relatively small window of time. Gathering these 5 top-tier performers into the same room, on the same schedule, is as difficult as it sounds, but all came together because they believed in the inherent good of the project; once together this bond and sisterhood felt profound and powerful. The team was fortunate to find a location, The Paramour Estate, that was not only supportive of this project, but visually cinematic and reminded all of us that this stunt was about honoring history in order to progress into a better future. We partnered once again with a favorite queer photographer of ours, Erik Carter, who successfully shot unique backgrounds for all 5 queens plus various backgrounds for the iconic group shot as well. Mastering the schedule of this was a learning from 2022’s execution, which led to an even more successful go around for 2023. And then of course the video interviews led to incredibly moving and compelling moments like Bianca Del Rio reflecting on how far the public’s perception of drag has come, and Alexis Mateo opening up about feeling alone while growing up in Puerto Rico with no LGBTQ role models until she saw RuPaul; now she can be that role model for the next generation. Other queens participating in addition to Alexis Mateo and Bianca Del Rio included April Carrión, Crystal Methyd, and Vanessa Vanjie Mateo. Any Drag Race superfan will tell you how stacked this group is and the power they render in the community simply by being their authentic selves. Together, this culmination of elements would lead to an immensely successful launch upon its release.
Partnering with The Wrap, the premiere of the group shot and accompanying behind-the-scenes video was an amazing success with overwhelming reaction and fan consumption. Each day that followed in the month featured original content including unique photographs as well as videos on all of the RuPaul’s Drag Race social platforms. Each of the 5 participants shared this content, leveraging their huge followings to engage with the media, and get this buzzy campaign trending. Undoubtedly, this project was a smash success and led to the immediate greenlight of a 2024 campaign that will continue to honor and celebrate queens from the RuPaul’s Drag Race community and their queer heroes.
