• by Danielle Oster , July 2, 2024

With the beginning of July, Pride Month is officially over. For many brands, that means not thinking about the LGBTQ+ community until it’s time to prepare a Pride Month campaign for the following year.

House Of Love Cocktails & Mocktails, co-founded by RuPaul in early 2024, wants to change that. In an effort leaning on its celebrity co-founder’s profile, and a partnership with executive producer, actress, and “RuPaul's Drag Race” judge Ts Madison, the brand is advocating for designating July 1 as “Still Gay Day,” a symbolic reminder that LGBTQ+ people don’t disappear at the end of June.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Pride,” Madison said in a statement. “But I’m trans 365 days of the year, and our community deserves all the love, visibility, and allyship outside of June as well.”

“At House of Love, we are always serving pride," RuPaul added. "Still Gay Day is a message to the world that we are queer all year.”

RuPaul kicked off the campaign yesterday with an Instagram post introducing the concept. Another video featuring Madison announces that the brand is declaring July 1 as a “national holiday” and calls on viewers to sign and share the petition with friends.

House Of Love also launched a campaign video on its website featuring Madison alongside two fellow “RuPaul’s Drag Race” judges: actor and TV host Carson Kressley, and singer/actress Michelle Visage. The appeal similarly drives viewers to sign a petition from the brand on the bottom of the page to designate July 1 as “Still Gay Day.”

 he petition section of the page asks visitors to enter their full name and email address, agree to the terms of service and privacy policy, and press a button to sign the petition. It’s unclear if the petition will be shared externally. So it appears to double as a clever way for the brand to build out its email list, while potentially reaching a larger audience.

It helps that the message aligns with brand’s core identity. House Of Love launched in 2022, taking inspiration from the spirit of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and its celebration of individuality and self-expression.  Aside from RuPaul, its co-founders include Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato – who founded production company World Of Wonder – and Svedka co-founder Marina Hahn.

“House of Love is built on the idea that Pride should be served all year,” Hahn said in a statement. “When other companies are packing up their rainbows in July, we’re here to celebrate Pride 24/7/365.”

That the message arrives following a June that saw a significant number of companies sitting out, or paring down, Pride Month celebrations, may also help make audiences more receptive.