WATCH: New Zealand rugby team shows LGBTQ support with rainbow jersey
The All Blacks' jerseys reveal a rainbow when stretched
New Zealand’s national rugby team has unveiled a special rainbow jersey in a grandiose display of support for the LGBTQ community.
The All Blacks released a video on Sunday showcasing new jerseys that appear black until they are pulled, at which point they show a beautiful rainbow color interlaced in the fabric.
The players appeared with the women’s rugby team, the Black Ferns, promoting a heartwarming message of diversity and the hashtag #diversityisstrength.
“The next battle is different,” the voiceover says, “The next battle is truly formidable and deeply devious. It is discrimination. An enemy that cannot be fought alone, it must be defeated together. It will take more than 15, it will take thousands, millions.”
The jerseys and ad campaign were created by advertising firm TBWA\Hakuhodo.
Matthew Walker, Regional Chief Marketing Officer for AIG Japan Holdings, which sponsors the team, said in a statement that they wanted to tackle diversity, representing “bigger social issues” within Japan.
“Our creative challenge to [TBWA/Hakuhodo] was how do we combine AIG, the All Blacks/Black Ferns and diversity in a relevant and impactful way,” Walker said. “From TBWA\Hakuhodo’s initial organizing idea of ‘If you combine all colors of the rainbow, you get black’ through to their fabric innovation and film integration to achieve that promise, we knew it was a big idea.”
The jersey’s fabric is painted in a way that the colors are embedded into the ribbed material, which allows a rainbow to be seen when any part of the shirt is stretched.
The timeliness of the message could not be better, after a recent controversy regarding Australian rugby player Israel Folau, who caused an uproar after saying on social media that gay people would go to hell unless they repented.
Watch the video below:
Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
