2007: 'Some People are Gay. Get Over It!' campaign breaks new ground
Unapologetic and in your face, our first awareness campaign demanded to be looked at, drawing great applause and ruffling a few feathers too. The key to its success was its simplicity and adaptability. This simple message made its way into tube carriages, on the sides of hundreds of buses up and down the country.
The posters were originally distributed to 5,000 secondary schools across England, Scotland and Wales and appeared on 600 billboards, on 20 major railway station advertising screens and 3,500 bus panels.
On its release, the Advertising Standards Authority received 54 complaints.
The ASA said at the time: "Although some people might disagree with the advertiser’s approach, the ad did not contain language or imagery that was likely to cause serious or widespread offence, or particular offence to heterosexuals or religious groups. The ad did not imply that heterosexual people were homophobic, and did not promote homosexuality as an attractive lifestyle choice or as taking advantage of issues arising from children’s sexuality for political gain."
Advertising space was donated to Stonewall from across England, Scotland and Wales.
The ‘Get Over It!’ campaign has since been taken up by celebrities, politicians and sports stars, and activists around the world have translated it for use in their own campaigns. The phrase continues to be the ‘face’ of Stonewall and thousands of supporters wear the loud and proud T-shirts to Prides each year.
The range has since been extended to include lesbians, bi people, trans people and BAME LGBTQ people.
You can order Get Over It! merchandise today and order stickers and posters for use in your school or workplace.