Actions speak louder than words: Vic Government launches anti-discrimination campaign via Think HQ
The Victorian Government has launched a first-of-its-kind campaign, tackling the discrimination of trans and gender diverse people, via Think HQ.
While it is cliché, everyone knows actions speak louder than words. The Victorian Government knows this, and uses it to highlight to often overlooked, non-verbal cues and micro-aggressions that trans and gender diverse people face every single day.
With these actions contributing to a culture of discrimination and exclusion, ‘The Unsaid Says A Lot’ urges Victorians to instead become allies for driving systemic change.
According to Think HQ’s insights, 93% of communication is non-verbal, and upon collaborating with trans and gender diverse people, the agency learnt of the daily experiences they face, and the extent of unspoken discrimination.
A La Trobe University study found than more than three in four trans and gender diverse people were treated unfairly because of their gender in the preceding 12 months – a contributing factor to higher rates of depression, anxiety and suicide in LGBTQIA+ people than in the general population.
For the campaign, the agency worked closely with transgender director, actor, writer and producer, Harvey Zielinski, who used his real life experiences as inspiration.
“I think this campaign is really important and powerful and I’m really pleased to be involved, especially in light of the vitriol we’ve witnessed towards the trans and gender diverse community over the past year,” Zielinski said.
“I wish we didn’t need to campaign for respect. I believe acceptance and inclusion should be a given, a bare minimum societally. I hope campaigns like this help work towards this goal, and improve the day-to-day lives of trans and gender-diverse people.”
Andy Lima, chief creative at Think HQ, said the power of the campaign lies in this co-creation with the community.
“Our aim was to deliver a state-wide campaign that celebrated and raised awareness of the community’s experiences, supporting greater inclusion and addressing trans and gender diverse discrimination,” he explained.
“With that in mind, we worked with the community through a series of workshops to first define the issues and vision for the campaign, and come up with creative solutions together.”
With no words spoken in the hero spot, the campaign emphasises how small moments of unspoken bias lead to a culture of exclusion.
‘The Unsaid Says A Lot’ is a key component in the Victorian Government’s 2022-23 LGBTQIA+ strategy, Pride in our Future, which is dedicated to promoting inclusivity and equality.
Minister for Equality, Harriet Shing, said: “This campaign is all about encouraging people to stop and think about how their actions towards trans and gender diverse people can make a huge difference – for better or for worse.
“We know that our interactions with others really matter, and this campaign is part of our ongoing work to reduce discrimination and stigma, and to contribute to more inclusive connections for trans and gender diverse people.
“With this campaign we are inviting all Victorians to think about how they act and what they can do to help shape equality in our state.”
The campaign is live across TV, online, print, OOH, and social channels. The creative will be supported by a range of community engagement activities, designed to foster further empathy and inclusivity.
Credits:
Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH):
Laura Miller (she/her) – Director strategic communications and digital
Jenny Ahmet (she/her) – Head of campaigns, brand and design
Michael West (he/they) – Director, seniors policy, equality and elder abuse reform
Matthew Guy (he/him) – Manager, LGBTIQA+ equality programs
Think HQ:
Jen Sharpe (she/her) – Founder and managing director
Lisa Gumbleton (she/her) – Group head of creative strategy and client service
Andy Lima (he/him) – Chief creative officer
Fiona Nixon (she/her) – Chief strategy officer
Jess Glass (she/her) – Group account director
Blake Mason (he/they) – Group account director, PR
Evie McCullough (she/her) – Account manager, PR
Rob Barnett (he/him) – Executive creative director
Sam McCarron (he/him) – Associate creative director
Max Bengtsson (he/him) – Senior copywriter
David O’Connor (he/they) – Producer
Camilo Suarez (he/him) – Multimedia specialist
Nic Song (he/him) – Editor
Adam Dixon-Galea (he/him) – Sound designer
Crew:
Harvey Zielinski (he/him) – Director
Cielo Croci (he/him) – 1st AD
Alexander Naughton (he/him) – Cinematographer
Wei Guo (he/him) – Production designer
Colin Page (he/him) – Photographer
Seth Geryon Suda (he/they) – Composer
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Lauren McNamara is a freelance journalist contributing to Mumbrella. She previously spent three years at the publication, most recently as the associate editor. She first joined in 2022 after completing a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) at UTS. She left her staff role at Mumbrella in August 2025.
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topics
Andy Lima
discrimination
exclusion
Harriet Shing
Harvey Zielinski
LGBTQIA+
Think HQ
transphobia
Vic Gov
Victorian government
Whilst the ad may feel cliched, as a trans person I can assure you the scenarios featured here are sadly all too common and real.
If it makes just one person stop and think about how they’d feel being a trans person in those situations, then this campaign will have been a success.
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Your objection to this campaign and indifference to the plight of trans people facing discrimination demonstrates exactly why such a campaign is needed.
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It might come as surprise to you but trans people pay tax too…
If it feels like a strange thing to spend money on then just be thankful you have the privilege of not regularly experience the types of situations featured in the ad.
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Strange thing for the Government to be spending money on while most Victorians are struggling with the cost of living, and Government debt is at record levels.
Would be interested in seeing how much this cost to produce and what that would equal in the education or health sectors.
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I fail to understand how this is going to change any underlying bias, let alone behaviour. It’s condescending, cliche and almost cringeworthy.
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Beautiful campaign. Sad that it’s needed but well done to all involved in bringing this to life.
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The vast majority of tax payers aren’t trans so they would prefer their money was spent elsewhere.
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