2024 Lifetime Achievement Award

Queer Dating App Taimi Explores 'America the Beautiful'

'Fruited plains' are just the beginning

Queer dating app Taimi touts its latest campaign, “America the Beautiful,” as a “provocative” statement.

That’s a shame, really. Because here in 2023, everyone should understand that love has too many faces to count. And appreciate that affection and attraction among consenting adults is the private business of those involved, not fodder for scorn, criticism or judgement.

Of course, we all know that’s not the case. Backward thinking persists and often prevails. Sometimes, potent words and images are required to shake things up.

“America the Beautiful” delivers on that score, with OOH from creative agency Known. Each shot shows real people, mostly couples, simply being who they are:

Invoking phrases from an iconic patriotic tune should stoke buzz and conversations, particularly with a media buy across red states like Tennessee, Texas, Georgia, Idaho, Florida and Oklahoma (plus New York and Illinois).

“When we set out to bring this campaign to life, most OOH owners refused to run the images and asked that we change the creative vision of the work if we wanted to do business with them,” says Known president Ross Martin. “We will never do that. The core message of our campaign, set to the powerful words of Katharine Lee Bates, is too important, especially right now.”

“We are grateful to all those who are helping us share this work, many of whom have donated their spaces to ensure this message will reach tens of millions of Americans,” Martin says. 

It certainly feels on brand for an LGBTQ+ dating app to fly this particular flag. There’s enough space in this vast land to let love blossom in a climate of acceptance and diversity. So, spread the word. Playing it safe won’t help. Visibility is essential. (We all remember what silence equals, right?) And if such efforts drive commerce, what could be more American than that?

“Dehumanizing people for being gay, bisexual, lesbian, transgender is an authoritarian narrative that contradicts all those liberties the citizens of the United States have been fighting for,” Andyol says. “We will stand with our users for their right to love, express and simply live their lives in the country that should not attack them but protect.”

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