On Thursday, October 20th, corporate allies around from the United States to France joined GLAAD by taking part in #SpiritDay, the world’s largest anti-LGBTQ bullying campaign. Millions of citizens worldwide went purple and sent messages of love and support to LGBTQ youth, in a show of solidarity for young people who are facing disproportionate levels of bullying (and cyberbullying), anxiety and safety concerns.
GLAAD is deeply grateful for our #SpiritDay 2022 sponsors who are leading the way with loud messages of love and affirmation to LGBTQ youth during a difficult moment in history. #SpiritDay purple, the color which symbolizes spirit on the rainbow flag, was viewed all over social media and mainstream media in an effort to show the next generation that they are not alone. We are proud to work with our corporate partners to amplify this message in October, and all year long.
KELLOGG
Kellogg was proud to partner with GLAAD once again as a Presenting and Community Sponsor for Spirit Day, standing against bullying and showing support for LGBTQ youth. This year, Kellogg’s:
- Released limited edition Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops and Frosted Mini Wheats “Rise & Kind” boxes on kelloggstore.com. This year, Kellogg is offering the third iteration of limited-edition Spirit Day cereal boxes, produced to support our partnership with GLAAD. Consumers can purchase special Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops and Frosted Mini Wheats “Rise & Kind” boxes featuring exuberant designs by artist Thaddeus Coates encouraging consumers to take GLAAD’s pledge against bullying and promote allyship and kindness.
- Donated $100,000 to GLAAD to support its media advocacy work accelerating acceptance for the LGBT community.
- Sponsored GLAAD’s Spirit Day fundraising “Beyond Concert” on Oct.19
KIRKLAND & ELLIS
Kirkland & Ellis took part in Spirit Day across its U.S., Europe and Asia locations, with each office hosting a local celebration. Kirkland’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee encouraged personnel to wear purple in support of standing up against the bullying of LGBTQ+ youth. Attorneys and staff submitted photos of themselves and their friends, family, colleagues and pets “going purple.” Select Kirkland attorneys and staff were also featured in a special video talking about the importance of Spirit Day and LGBTQ+ allyship, as well as their experiences as LGBTQ+ professionals at the Firm. Watch the video here.
NBA / WNBA:
The NBA and WNBA family partnered with GLAAD for Spirit Day by taking a stand against bullying and showing support for LGBTQ+ youth. The league showed its commitment to Spirit Day through social media posts, internal communications to employees around Pride ERT’s work, and encouraging fans to take the Spirit Day Pledge.
SALLY HANSEN:
GLAAD was excited to continue its partnership with Sally Hansen, Presenting Sponsor of Spirit Day 2022. Together, GLAAD and Sally Hansen invited and encouraged all to wear purple and show off their “Spirit Nails” with a purple manicure to take a stand against bullying and express their support for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer LGBTQIA+ youth in a visible, impactful way.
On Wednesday, October 19th, the Empire State Building went “Purple” with a lighting display in support of Spirit Day. Sally Hansen and GLAAD hosted a Lighting Ceremony with GLAAD’s Deputy President and COO, Darra Gordon and Coty’s SVP of US Marketing Kevin Shapiro, and RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant and reality television personality, Jujubee in attendance to kick off the celebrations. Sally Hansen also hosted a special #SpiritDay brunch at the Moxy NYC, which was attended by Melissa Harris, Deputy Vice President of Partnerships at GLAAD, along with esteemed editors and LGBTQIA+ influencers to bring awareness to Spirit Day and the Sally Hansen x GLAAD partnership.
SKITTLES
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SKITTLES celebrated Spirit Day on social media, encouraging all to “go purple” by standing against bullying and supporting LGBTQ youth. The message was also displayed in partnership with M&M’S, on the M&M’s New York Jumbotron at the Times Square, NYC location. To further support Spirit Day, M&M’S and SKITTLES, both brands proudly part of Mars, lit up the Newark, New Jersey, and Chicago Mars Wrigley buildings in purple.
TARGET
This year Target continues their #TakePride campaign to show that wherever you are on your journey, Target celebrates you & all that you are, today & all year long. Target takes pride in celebrating stories of affirmation with works by LGBTQIA+ authors. This initiative showcases people being their authentic selves by letting their unique style shine and highlighting the diversity of the LGBTQ community.
You can experience more stories all year long with #TakePride on Target.com, which serves as a place of affirmation and allyship with the LGBTQ community.
VIKTOR&ROLF
On October 20th Viktor&Rolf rolled out a robust Spirit Day social media campaign that included an Instagram feed purple takeover and they partnered with some amazing influencers to help spread the Spirit Day message across the globe.
Participating talent included @missfamenyc, @victoria, @baptiste.giabiconi, and @kateaustinn to name a few. The influencers spread key messages and facts about the hardships LGBTQ youth face and asked their followers to wear purple.
Viktor&Rolf team members and L’Oreal employees across the globe showed their support by wearing purple on Spirit Day.
VISIBLE
On Spirit Day, millions of people joined the world in going purple to take a stand against bullying in support of LGBTQ+ youth. It takes a village to rise up against bullying. That’s why, for the second year running, Visible, the all-digital wireless service powered by Verizon, partnered with GLAAD for Spirit Day to show support for LGBTQ youth.
Since its inception in 2010, Spirit Day has become one of the largest, most visible anti-bullying campaigns in the world and continues to gain momentum. Today, GLAAD organizes hundreds of celebrities, major TV networks, brands, landmarks, sports leagues, tech leaders, influencers, faith groups, school organizations, and more to signal to LGBTQ young people that we have their backs.
Since day 1, Visible has set out to be more than just a wireless carrier. The brand has worked to create impactful change by shining a light on people so all are seen, heard, and empowered – to make the invisible, visible.
Through Spirit Day activations online and offline, Visible encouraged LGBTQ allies to remain #ProudlyVisible, and to stand with the LGBTQ community for Spirit Day by supporting them through the following actions:
1. Signing GLAAD’s anti-bullying pledge
2. Putting on a purple shirt for October 20th
3. Posting a selfie on their socials with #SpiritDay and #ProudlyVisible to join the conversation. (e.g. Today is #SpiritDay! Excited to be #ProudlyVisible and go purple for LGBTQ youth!)
4. Spreading the word and encouraging others to do the same
To read more about Visible’s Spirit Day support, please visit their Newsroom.
SPIRIT DAY CONCERT
In addition to the tremendous show of support by all of our #SpiritDay sponsors, GLAAD was honored to partner with Ketel One Family Made Vodka, Kellogg’s, M&M’s, and WWE for GLAAD x Justin Tranter’s “BEYOND” Spirit Day Concert held on Wednesday, October 19th in Los Angeles. The event helped raise over $400,000 to benefit GLAAD’s youth advocacy efforts and was headlined by Billy Porter.
About #SpiritDay
GLAAD organizes celebrities, media outlets, brands, landmarks, sports leagues, faith groups, school districts, organizations, colleges and universities in what has become the most visible anti-LGBTQ bullying campaign in the world. Purple symbolizes spirit on the rainbow flag.
The annual tradition was started in 2010 by GLAAD and then high school student Brittany McMillan, in memory of the LGBTQ youth who died by suicide. McMillan encouraged her friends to wear purple on a day in October — a day that came to be known as Spirit Day.
Today, LGBTQ youth, and especially trans and nonbinary youth, are experiencing a level of scrutiny in schools we have never seen, leading to an environment rife with stressors beyond the peer-to-peer bullying of the past. From book bans, to bans on trans youth in sports, to bathroom restrictions and teachers barred from using correct pronouns, the means by which a student can express themselves and see others like them are increasingly being challenged.
GLSEN’s National School Climate Survey, released earlier this week, reported nearly 82% of LGBTQ students feel unsafe in school. 76% experienced in-person verbal harassment (e.g., called names or threatened) and 31% were physically harassed. Earlier this year, The Trevor Project reported 85% of transgender and nonbinary youth say that recent debates around anti-trans bills have negatively impacted their mental health.
GLAAD’s 2022 Social Media Safety Index found severe harassment for LGBTQ users when compared to 2021. This anti-LGBTQ rhetoric translates to real-life harm and has been cited as drivers of many of the over 300 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced in states around the country this year alone, many of which target LGBTQ young people.
Take the Spirit Day pledge to show LGBTQ youth you’ve got their backs at glaad.org/spiritday.
For more information on Spirit Day, visit glaad.org/spiritday and follow @GLAAD on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to keep up to date with #SpiritDay news.
About GLAAD
GLAAD rewrites the script for LGBTQ acceptance. As a dynamic media force, GLAAD tackles tough issues to shape the narrative and provoke dialogue that leads to cultural change. GLAAD protects all that has been accomplished and creates a world where everyone can live the life they love. For more information, please visit www.glaad.org or connect with GLAAD on Facebook and Twitter.