Campaign appoints first transgender columnist

Campaign has appointed Marty Davies, joint chief executive of Outvertising and founder of the consultancy Smarty Pants Consultancy, as its first transgender columnist.

Davies will use their monthly column – A Queer View – to discuss issues including the need for authentic queer representation in advertising, the importance of inclusive workplaces, and the ways brands and their agencies can influence media coverage of the LGBTQIA+ community.

In their first column, Davies says A Queer View will be a “platform to guide and hold our industry accountable” for its efforts. They add: “We have no more room for performative gestures or empty commitments in 2023 and into the future: love is love, but money talks.”

Campaign has introduced the regular column following a piece Davies wrote in March after the death of Brianna Ghey, a 16-year-old trans girl, that asked whether adspend was funding an increase in LGBTQIA+ hate crimes.

Maisie McCabe, UK editor at Campaign, said: “I'm delighted Marty has agreed to be a regular columnist for Campaign. We are committed to using our platform as a force for greater inclusion and diversity, both by featuring the broad range of experiences in the advertising, media and marketing industries and pushing for positive change.”

In a statement this week Outvertising urged brands to stand their ground and continue to support LGBTQIA+ people and issues during Pride month and beyond following a number of high-profile backlashes involving brands such as Bud Light and Target. 

Companies and organisations including ISBA, the World Federation of Advertisers, Grey London, the Advertising Association, Ogilvy, the Marketing Society and Stonewall supported the initiative. 

Laura Jordan Bambach, the president and chief creative officer at Grey London, said: “The silent majority is very supportive of LGBTQIA+ issues and it’s incredibly sad to see a vocal minority overtake the conversation.

“If you see what’s happening in the US, how a relatively smaller number of opponents can undo good work very quickly, you can see why we have a responsibility to stand our ground – as employers of people, as members of the community and as allies to the community.”

Outvertising is a volunteer-run organisation working to make the British advertising and marketing sector inclusive for LGBTQIA+ people. It runs a mentorship programme and inclusion training as well as holding social events. 

Nancy Kelley, chief executive of Stonewall, said: “At a time when LGBTQ+ rights, and trans people’s rights in particular, are the subject of an all-out culture war, it is so important that decision-makers across all parts of public life hear from LGBTQ+ experts in their field.

"I am sure that Marty’s column will be an important source of education and challenge for the industry.”