Amazon Canada celebrates Pride Month With #ProudToBe and the Prime Video #NotJustForShow Campaigns, in Partnership With Pride Toronto and Other Local 2SLGBTQ+ Groups

The Prime Video #NotJustForShow initiatives include a Prime Video Pride Parade float, an open-air viewing party for The Lake Season Two in Toronto, and a 24-hour campaign takeover of the largest Digital Board in Canada at Yonge-Dundas

Amazon Canada's #ProudToBe will feature donations to OCAD University, The 519 community centre, and Centre Communautaire LGBTQ+ de Montréal. Throughout Pride Month, Amazon Canada will also participate in local Pride Festivals and Pride Parades in Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa, and Vancouver

Up to 400 Amazon employees will march in the 2023 Toronto Pride Parade

TORONTO, June 5, 2023 /CNW/ -- To celebrate Pride Month, Prime Video and Amazon Canada are showing solidarity with the 2SLGBTQ+ community, with a focus on shifting the spotlight to provide more visibility and amplify the voices of queer-identifying employees, local community members, and Prime Video fans. Amazon Canada is supporting Pride Toronto with a large-scale packaging initiative and showcasing 2SLGBTQ+ Amazon employee talent with the #ProudToBe Art Exhibition in partnership with Pride Toronto and Oleos & Canvas. Prime Video is also launching #NotJustForShow, a campaign that spotlights voices from 2SLGBTQ+ creators and the impact representation in film and TV has had on them. 

"Amazon has given me the unique opportunity to help shape how we celebrate queer employees not just during Pride, but year-round," said Derek Hooey, president of the Amazon 2SLGBTQ+ employee resource group, Glamazon. "Our #ProudToBe programming for 2023 encapsulates how we feel?that our employees' authenticity dictates how we operate."

"The #NotJustForShow campaign will mark a commitment from Prime Video to be a platform that elevates queer voices and extends beyond Pride month," said Magda Grace, head of Prime Video, Canada. "Our goal is to shift the spotlight from just our content and provide visibility and amplify 2SLGBTQ+ voices in Canada, and what representation in TV and film means to them."

The #NotJustForShow Pride Campaign
On launch, Prime Video will release a video that explains what #NotJustForShow means to Prime Video. The campaign is in partnership with Canadian queer-identifying influencers, including Kairyn Potts, Michelle Osbourne, Alyy Patel, Stephen Covic, Haley Robinson, Hugo Filipe, Gabriel Paquette, and Alex Pollard, who will share their own stories and perspectives on what 2SLGBTQ+ representation in TV and film means to them. Following the launch, wild postings and out-of-home ad spots along the Toronto Pride parade route will feature 2SLGBTQ+ influencers.

Starting in June and continuing beyond Pride Month, Prime Video is launching the #NotJustForShow campaign, aimed at shifting the spotlight to provide visibility and amplify 2SLGBTQ+ voices. The #NotJustForShow campaign will be activated at several immersive experiences across Toronto. Turning the lens towards the 2SLGBTQ+ community to share their stories, the #NotJustForShow campaign will also amplify their stories across Prime Video social channels with influencer content speaking about representation. During the Toronto Pride Parade, the Prime Video Pride float will showcase 2SLGBTQ+ moments from Prime Video shows and a giant kiss cam, with live cameras searching for people looking to recreate the scenes on the big screen. On June 23, Prime Video is hosting an open-air viewing party of The Lake's Season Two premiere episode at College Park in Toronto (near Yonge Street and College Street), with guest appearance by series star Jordan Gavaris. The Lake Season 2 is the latest Canadian series available to Prime members. Prime members in Canada enjoy savings, convenience, and entertainment, all in a single membership.

#NotJustForShow will also have a 24-hour take over of Branded Cities' (North America's leading Out-of-Home (OOH) company) largest digital, full-motion spectacular at Yonge-Dundas. The takeover will feature the queer-identifying influencers and amplify their viewpoints on representation in TV and film in the heart of downtown Toronto.

The #ProudToBe Pride Campaign
To celebrate the 2SLGBTQ+ community and Amazonian talent, Amazon Canada is hosting a competition featuring employee-submitted visual art to showcase why they are #ProudToBe their most authentic self at work. This year's entrants highlight the various ways Pride allows them to embrace their own identity, break free from societal expectations and norms, find community, and discover their most authentic means of self-expression. In partnership with Pride Toronto and art curator Marcos Mena Cruz, president of Oleos & Canvas and Alay Fuentes Bejerano, 12 finalists will be featured in an art exhibit and on the Amazon Canada Pride Parade float in Toronto. Along with art presented by Amazon artists, Oleos & Canvas is also proud to showcase emerging queer artists from Cuba like Liliana Cortina Rosabal, along with allies like Zaida del Rio. The winning artwork will also be promoted on a digital screen in Toronto's iconic Yonge-Dundas and in a national media campaign in Exclaim! magazine. To continue nurturing upcoming 2SLGBTQ+ students and talent, Glamazon will be donating $5,000 to OCAD University.

In Toronto, Amazon Canada supported Pride Toronto by packaging 6,000 boxes of donated items for at-risk 2SLGBTQ+ persons in the greater Toronto area using Amazon Boxes and Pride Tape. Throughout Pride Month, Amazon Canada will also participate in local Pride Festivals and Pride Parades in Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa, and Vancouver. At Toronto Pride, up to 400 Amazon employees will march in the 2023 parade.

As Pride festivities conclude, Amazon Canada will continue supporting the 2SLGBTQ+ community beginning as early as July. In Toronto, The 519 community centre will receive $5,000 and goods year-round for their support programs, and in Montreal, Prime Video and Glamazon are supporting the Centre Communautaire LGBTQ+ de Montréal with a $5,000 donation and licences to showcase Prime Video content for their queer movie nights for one year.

Amazon is a proud supporter of its employee resource group, Glamazon which helps Amazon be a great place to work by educating and informing employees about the 2SLGBTQ+ community and opportunities. The group mentors fellow employees (both 2SLGBTQ+ and allies) and promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion. Amazon is more visible within the 2SLGBTQ+ community-at-large by sponsoring events and Pride around the globe. Glamazon's Canadian chapters have been proud to celebrate Pride and march at Pride festivals across the country for over a decade.

Prime members will be able to watch The Lake anywhere and anytime on the Prime Video app for smart TVs, mobile devices, Fire TV, Fire TV stick, Fire tablets, Apple TV, and stream online. In the Prime Video app, Prime members can download episodes on their mobile devices and tablets and watch anywhere offline at no additional cost. Prime Video is available in Canada at no extra cost to a Prime membership for just CAD$ 99/year or CAD$ 9.99/month (plus applicable taxes), new customers can find out more at www.primevideo.com and subscribe to a free 30-day trial.

About Prime Video 
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SOURCE Amazon Canada