32 photos celebrating 10 years of Braden Summers' ALL LOVE IS EQUAL campaign - Advocate.com

Braden Summers

In 2012, I shot the first image for the series ‘ALL LOVE IS EQUAL’. I was challenged by my husband (then boyfriend) to illustrate the same romance I was depicting in my work with straight couples, but apply it to a romance that looked more like our own.

I created the photograph in London with two men holding hands on the London bridge on a rainy day and upon posting it to social media, I was met with a surprisingly positive response that left me with a clear purpose. This work had really never been created before and I felt a sense of obligation to show the world how beautiful same-sex love can be. Six months later I decided to use that London image as a springboard to create culturally diverse photo-illustrations of same-sex couples. My producer, Greg Jaroszewski, and I set out with the intention to create work in Paris, Mumbai, Lebanon, Johannesburg, Rio de Janeiro, New York City and San Francisco. We ended up with a total of 14 original photographs that went public on Valentine’s Day 2014 on both The Advocate and Buzzfeed’s websites. Funding for the project was raised via Kickstarter. For the next 2 years straight I was responding to interview questions about the project seemingly nonstop from every corner of the world. I received love letters and hate mail alike. Ultimately I felt honored to give same-sex romance an elevated platform, seen by millions, created with the same sense of style and beauty standards we have seen in luxury advertising for decades.

Marriott International set up a meeting with me a month after the series launched online. They asked if I would continue ALL LOVE IS EQUAL using Marriott properties as the backdrop for each image. We spent months building up their newest campaign ‘Love Travels’, which went on to win big advertising awards. The campaign spread, going beyond the LGBTQ+ community to illustrate love, romance, and family among various other minority groups. The corporate backing of a personal series was the ultimate validation knowing my original intention was to inspire large brands to include same sex couples in their mainstream campaigns.

Braden Summers

Ten years on, in 2024, I am reflecting on the meaning of that work. On one hand, showing a same-sex couple in an ad campaign will no longer feed any news cycles as it may have in 2014, and I feel proud to have played whatever role I had in changing that narrative. On the other, we see a majority of brands pull back on their pride campaigns this year after the backlash from the political right and their rage that companies like Bud Light are sponsoring transgender voices like Dylan Mulvaney. There is more work to be done. And I have continued to work. My film, ‘Elevate’, that I created in 2019 was filmed with the intention of illustrating a ‘day in the life of’ a transgender person - humanizing both their inherent beauty and struggle.

In terms of my own career, Marriott International was ultimately the only brand, to date, to reach out to me in the effort to continue the mission of highlighting romance in same-sex couples. I have struggled to find my place in this industry outside of that niche market and the pandemic certainly didn’t help. My own work has expanded and veered more towards fashion and beauty, catering to the celebrity-centric nature of living in Los Angeles. The work has been slow, but the drive and desire to create beautiful and compelling imagery will always push me forward. There is real power in visual representation, I will continue to use my platform to expand and challenge our own ideals and standards for beauty - as it is in all of us.

Check out the campaign 10 years on below.

Braden Summers

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2024-06-30 21:43:43Z

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32 photos celebrating 10 years of Braden Summers' ALL LOVE IS EQUAL campaign - Advocate.com

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