Go 'Beyond The Rainbow' with H&M

H&M launched the new "Beyond the Rainbow" campaign on June 1, 2021 in support of the LGBTQIA+ community and Pride 2021. Starring Michaela Jaé Rodriguez and Chella Man, the interactive campaign shows H&M's continued support of the LGBTQIA+ community, telling individual stories from the campaign's stars and encouraging people to share their own through a newly developed web app.

The campaign features, among others, American actress and singer Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Mexican influencer Héctor Trejo, Danish actor, model and DJ Sus Wilkins and American activist, artist and actor Chella Man.  In addition, several of H&M's own employees appear in the campaign and share their inspiring, personal perspectives on what Pride means to them.

"It's not to wave around to show 'We're here', it's 'Look what we fought for'. We're the ones who created our own liberation. The Pride flag is beautiful, but I'm not sure a lot of people understand how beautiful, I'm not just talking about the colors, it's what's beyond them," says Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, one of the many powerful voices in the global campaign.

The stories told in the campaign are of love and hate, of growing up and coming out, of finding true love wherever and whoever you are and celebrating everyone's right to be themselves. Featuring people from different continents, age, gender identities and sexual orientations, H&M's "Beyond the Rainbow" campaign aims to inspire individuals to share their own stories and support the core values of diversity, equality and transparency which are the heart of Pride.

One of the additional exciting aspects of the campaign is a web app which utilizes breakthrough technology, allowing anyone to use a web-based scanner on their smartphone to identify rainbow patterns in their surroundings. Previously, image recognition technology has never been able to recognize color, making this innovation the first of its kind. By scanning any rainbow Pride flag — from actual flags to rainbow donuts, teddy bears, clothing and everything in between — users are taken to the "Beyond the Rainbow" landing page where true stories from diverse individuals in the LGBTQIA+ community will be revealed. Users are also able to watch videos, utilize Instagram filters and share their own Pride stories on social media. The technology was created to make an important point — that the true meaning of Pride is more than just the colors of the flag, it's the sum total of all the heartfelt and personal stories of the LGBTQIA+ members that can be found "Beyond the Rainbow".

"Storytelling is something that has the power to connect us all, and I'm extremely proud that this campaign provides a platform to share the meaningful stories of its incredible cast," says Carlos Duarte, President of H&M Region Americas. "'Beyond the Rainbow' is a celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community and truly encompasses H&M's values of self-expression, being yourself and embracing others for who they are."

In addition to this year's campaign, H&M USA is a proud supporter of The Trevor Project, the world's largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning young people. H&M will match donations made to Trevor during a special Match Campaign in June. Through doing so, H&M will help Trevor raise additional funds. You can visit TRVR.org/HereForPride to learn more about their important mission and participate in their "Here" campaign, the goal of which is to be here, whenever and wherever youth are in need, always 100% free.

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