Wavemaker Hungary rallies local restaurants to support the LGBTQ+ community on Valentine’s Day

Budapest Pride and Háttér Society, joined forces with more than 40 popular local restaurants to raise awareness around the isolation of the LGBTQ+ community in Hungary on Valentine’s Day with empty tables.

Valentine’s Day is about celebrating love all over the world. However, there are tens of thousands of couples in Hungary today who dare not celebrate the occasion in public, for instance, in a restaurant. They are LGBTQ+ couples who prefer to stay at home in fear of harassment. This was the focus of an awareness activation campaign by two Hungarian LGBTQ+ rights organisations, Budapest Pride and Háttér Society, created by Wavemaker Hungary. In each restaurant that joined the initiative, an empty table was laid with a note and a rainbow-coloured candle to symbolise the absence of same-sex couples who are too afraid to celebrate Valentine’s Day in public.

The activation turned into a social media movement in just one day.

Table note translation

Gábor and Péter / Ági and Kata prefer to celebrate Valentine’s Day in seclusion.

In Hungary today, there are tens of thousands of couples in love who dare not sit in a restaurant, hold hands or kiss in public. This table is empty for them today, as we would have loved to have them here! Let’s change the situation! Because Valentine’s Day is Valentine’s Day.

I love this work, it’s provocative and makes me proud to work at Wavemaker. This is an example of advertising at its best, a positive force that helps shape culture.”

Camilla Bruggen, Global Head Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

The situation of LGBTQI people in Hungary

Since June 2021, homosexuality has been conflated with paedophilia by law; homosexuality is not allowed to be discussed in schools, and under-18s are not allowed to watch TV shows and commercials featuring people from the LGBTQ+ community. Moreover, there is also a law banning same-sex adoption.

To legitimate this, Hungary’s Parliament has approved the government’s plan to hold a national referendum on “LGBTQ+ propaganda.” The referendum will include questions on sex education programmes in schools and the availability of information for children on gender reassignment. Based on newly adopted rules, the referendum will be held on the same day as the 2022 national elections.

Although the acceptance of homosexual couples in society is increasing, these laws have a serious impact on the lives of the LGBTQI+ community.

In 2021, Háttér Society’s legal aid service received 25% more calls for help than in the previous year. According to research by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) on the LGBTQ+ community, 72% of Hungarians surveyed said they always or often avoid being seen holding hands with their same-sex partner for fear of being assaulted or threatened, and 25% had experienced discrimination in a hospitality setting in a restaurant in the past year.

For this reason, the ‘Empty Valentine’s Table’ campaign was not only aimed at social activation, but also at promoting invalid votes in the referendum, which is not only advocated by Budapest Pride and Háttér Society, but also by several NGOs.

Campaign results

The initiative was immediately joined by influencers and the independent press.

After the participating restaurants shared their statements on social media and assured the LGBTQ+ community that they were welcome in their restaurants anytime, not just on Valentine’s Day. Within hours, the campaign was supported by the country’s biggest influencers using the ‘Valentine’s Day is Valentine’s Day’ hashtag, and the activation was reported in a series of articles in all independent media that very evening.

The only remaining independent TV channel, RTL Klub also addressed the issue and produced an exclusive TV programme, which could only be broadcast after 10pm with an R 18+ rating, as in Hungary it is prohibited by law to cover this topic during prime time, even in current affairs programmes or the evening news.

As for the success of the campaign in numbers, we can safely say that from zero media spending the estimated earned media was EUR 245,000.

This is a wonderful piece of work. Addressing a social and cultural issue of discrimination and working not just within the LGBTQ+ community but alongside the restaurants supporting them as allies.”

Alex Altman, Global Client President & Diversity Group
Global ExCo Sponsor for Wavemaker Unite

About Wavemaker Unite

Wavemaker Unite is our UK and global community for members of the LGBTQ+ community and allies aiming to champion DE&I through our work and in the workplace.