Intimate photographs of same-sex kisses are at the heart of Absolut’s Kiss With Pride poster campaign, launched today (27 July) on the 50th anniversary of the amendment of the Sexual Offences Act, which partially decriminalised male homosexuality in England and Wales.

That campaign was created by BBH London and shot by photographer Sam Bradley to highlight the fact that consensual same-sex activity remains illegal in 72 countries, and is punishable by death in eight. Many of the kissers hail from these countries, and the images look to concurrently “celebrate their own freedom of expression,” says Absolut, adding that the images “capture intimate moments that could not be tolerated in those individuals’ homelands.”

Bradley says that he was drawn to the idea of the campaign because “the idea was so pure … it’s quite rare for adverting to be for a cause without it feeling disingenuous.” He adds: “The more people that see these images the better. And not just in progressive cities like London and New York. I would really like the images to reach people outside of that bubble and to start a constructive conversation.”

The campaign is part of a collaboration between the Pernod Ricard-owned brand and LGBTQ charity Stonewall. This is BBH’s second Absolut campaign this month, and follows its Equal Love film, which shows a number of different couples kissing. It launched to coincide with London Pride, and was directed by Aoife McArdle through Somesuch. 

The posters are being rolled out across the UK as a poster and digital out of home campaign, and will also be displayed along the route of Brighton and Hove Pride. That same weekend, from 4 – 6 August, the images will also be exhibited at London’s Protein Gallery space.

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