We Are Your Neighbors (advertisement)
Date: 2005
Region: North America
Subject: Sexual/Gender Orientation, Political/Economic/Social Opinion, Language
Medium: Photography, Public Art, Commercial Advertising
Artist: Georgia Equality, a LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transexual)rights group.
Confronting Bodies: Lamar Advertising Company
Dates of Action: Summer/Fall 2005
Location: Georgia, USA
Description of Artwork: The campaign, called We Are Your Neighbors, features gay men and lesbians in various professions. A gay firefighter, for example, is captioned "I protect you, and I am a gay. We are your neighbors." A lesbian doctor is titled "I care for you, and I am a lesbian."
The Incident: Billboard company Lamar Advertising has rejected a series of ads from Georgia Equality, an LGBT rights group, that was scheduled to appear in the Fall of 2005 in rural parts of Georgia. Georgia Equality's campaign, entitled We Are Your Neighbors, has been running in the Atlanta area on billboards owned by Clear Channel. Georgia Equality intended to expand their campaign, placing additional billboards in 38 rural counties in Georgia. However, Lamar Advertising, which owns 149,000 billboards, rejected the campaign.
Results of Incident: Lamar Advertising is the largest billboard operator in the rural areas of Georgia, but Georgia Equality is trying to find alternatives that will allow them to exhibit their message of tolerance, love and understanding.
Source: Gay.com