Shanghai Pride · China · Cultural innovation
Rainbow Names
Cannes Lions shortlist · Gold, Asian Digital Media Awards
The challenge
In China, being LGBTQ often means living unseen. Pride itself operates quietly, run by volunteers without recognition or state support.
For its 10th anniversary, Shanghai Pride wanted to do something rare — celebrate openly, yet peacefully. The task: to speak in a language China would actually listen to — one grounded in respect, not rebellion.
The approach
We found connection hidden in a single stroke of ink. By transforming the Chinese symbol for 10 (十 — written as a '+') into a rainbow, we revealed a mark of pride already living inside every family name.
Each 'Rainbow Name' became both personal and universal — proof that equality doesn't need confrontation, only recognition of what binds us together. A mobile site let people create and share their rainbow surname across WeChat and Weibo.
Pop-up events invited families and allies to print and display their names — quietly, beautifully.
What we learned
- When everything divides, start with what unites
- For LGBTQ people, community becomes a second family
- In China, family is the emotional and social fabric that defines belonging
- 85% of Chinese people share as few as 100 surnames — a bridge between identity and inclusion
- Progress can emerge not from protest, but from shared light
The outcome
Rainbow Names turned language into empathy. Media coverage grew 500%.
Shanghai Pride's followers rose 50%. Families began publicly standing with their LGBTQ children.
What started as a 10-year anniversary became a national moment of quiet visibility — proof that progress can emerge not from protest, but from shared light. No slogans.
No paid media. Just a collective gesture spreading across China, one name at a time.