This Pride season, SKITTLES® continues its longstanding allyship and commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community with a joyful, multi-channel campaign spanning PR, social, OOH and experiential activations, focused on the concept of chosen families.
Traditionally, Pride presents the LGBTQIA+ community in broad strokes, leaving out those nuanced communities and connections within. LGBTQIA+ communities are more than just groups of people with shared experiences, they can be chosen families that offer love, laughter, and unwavering support – proving that family is all about connection, not just biology.
That’s why SKITTLES® is shining a light on the communities and connections within the community so that all can be seen and celebrated for who they are, not just what they represent.
Florence McGivern, Senior Brand Manager at SKITTLES® UK, said, “For over a decade, SKITTLES® has proudly championed the LGBTQIA+ community year-round, using our platform to spotlight stories that deserve to be seen and heard. At a time when visibility and representation remain as important as ever, we’re proud to be celebrating the power of chosen families. From the Chosen Fam Cam to our partnership with Queer Britain and bold outdoor creative, this campaign brings to life the love, laughter and unwavering support that chosen families have offered for generations, because when you find your community, your colours shine.”
Chosen family may feel like a modern concept, but its roots run deep, and as part of Skittles continued commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community, this year they are shining a light on the history of chosen families and the vital role they’ve played across generations.
Since 2022, Skittles has worked closely with expert partners to help fill the gaps in LGBTQIA+ archives, always ensuring that every initiative is guided by community voices rather than product promotion, and this year is no different.
This pride season, SKITTLES® teamed up Queer Britain, the UK’s national LGBTQIA+ museum, to uncover three remarkable stories of British chosen families from the 1700s, 1920s and 1960s. These stories will be gifted to Queer Britain’s permanent collection, alongside a £50,000 financial donation, to support the museum’s ongoing mission to ensure the LGBTQIA+ archives of tomorrow are as joyful, diverse and inclusive as the community they represent.
The project brings to light three powerful examples of chosen family throughout British history, proving that the concept of chosen families is deeply engrained into queer history and experience:
- 1700s: In the 1700s, Julius Caesar Taylor, a queer Black man believed to have once been enslaved, ran a molly house (queer spaces named after ‘mollies’ – a once-derogatory term reclaimed by feminine queer men) on Tottenham Court Road, offering refuge for queer men to express themselves and find a chosen family.
- 1920s: The Bloomsbury Group was a group of artists and writers in the 1920’s that formed a powerful chosen family. Within this group was Lytton Strachey and Donna Carrington. Strachey supported Carrington’s exploration of gender and identity. Their intimate letters reveal a deep bond full of humour, art, and affection – proof that chosen families can thrive in many forms.
- 1970s: From the 1970s, Brixton became a home for queer community and activism. The UK’s first LGBTQIA+ centre opened there in 1974, becoming a hub for LGBTQIA+ grassroots organising in London. Queer people formed chosen families in squats and co-ops like the Brixton Housing Co-op, fostering solidarity and support. Jonathan Blake and Nigel Young met in 1983 at a protest – just months after Jonathan’s HIV diagnosis. They built a life together at Brixton Housing Co-op, where they lived for 39 years. More than partners, they were activists and creators, helping build a home and chosen family with many others in the community.
To honour the past while celebrating the present, SKITTLES® also launched the Chosen Fam Cam – a vibrant travelling photobooth created by Freuds and Lawless, and designed in collaboration with queer artist Ashton Attzs, known for her bold and inclusive visual storytelling. Appearing at London, Brighton and soon to be Manchester Pride, the activation invites people to capture joyful moments with their chosen families and celebrate those who uplift and love them unconditionally through bold and inclusive visual storytelling.
The final stop of the Skittles photobooth activation is supported by a wider out-of-home campaign, led by WPP Media’s Essence Mediacom, across Manchester, designed to boost visibility and engagement during Pride. A bespoke mural, installed by Mural Republic / Active went live on 8th August in the Northern Quarter and will remain in place until 31st August. Alongside this, a fleet of branded ad bikes will be active across the city on 23rd and 24th August, with ten bikes operating for eight hours each day to drive awareness and footfall.
To extend the campaign’s reach online, SKITTLES® has also partnered with Jungle Creations on a social-first content series titled “Skittles Chosen Family,” featured across their FourNine and VT channels. Hosted by RuPaul’s Drag Race star Kitty Scott-Claus, the series explores real stories of LGBTQIA+ chosen families across the UK – including a drag collective in Norwich, as well as a dynamic running club and a beloved Sunday brunch group, both based in London – continuing the celebration of joy, connection, and the unique bonds that define chosen families.
This year’s campaign builds on SKITTLES®’ multi-year commitment to LGBTQIA+ inclusion and archival visibility. In recent years, the brand has partnered with GAY TIMES, Queer Britain and Getty Images to launch initiatives such as Recolour the Rainbow and QUEER JOY, both being projects designed to fill gaps in the UK’s LGBTQIA+ archives and celebrate queer self-expression. From restoring historic images to full colour, to commissioning emerging LGBTQIA+ photographers and showcasing their work in open-air exhibitions across London, SKITTLES® has consistently used its platform to spotlight underrepresented stories and ensure the archives of tomorrow are as vibrant and inclusive as the community they reflect.
PR creative was led by Freud Communications, with Lawless overseeing the creative and production of the Chosen Fam Cam photobooth, and OOH media planning and inclusive planning handled by WPP Media’s Essence Mediacom.
