Australia’s LGBTQIA+ education charity The Pinnacle Foundation has expanded its ongoing Make Awkward Awesome campaign with a poignant new press ad, designed to encourage parents to break the embarrassment barrier and talk openly to their children about sexuality and identity.
Originally launched in 2024, the campaign aims to empower parents to initiate these sensitive conversations, creating safe, supportive home environments rather than leaving the pressure on young people to “come out” on their own.
The new press ad, currently running across major magazines and newspapers including Who, Woman’s Day, New Idea, The Daily Telegraph and The Herald Sun, taps into the real-life awkwardness parents feel when starting these discussions. By highlighting parental insights and hesitations, the campaign normalises the discomfort while showing the profound benefits of proactive support.
Initiative led media strategy, partner negotiations, and channel selection, delivering the campaign across 30+ diverse media partners with $0 media spend, showcasing the impact of earned media in driving reach and awareness.
“Parental support is highly important to LGBTQIA+ young people’s wellbeing,” said Tim Lai, Marketing Manager at The Pinnacle Foundation. “At the core of this ongoing campaign is encouraging parents to lean in, have the conversations that matter, and create safe, supportive home environments.”
CEO Andrew Staite added, “Our central aim is to help LGBTQIA+ youth realise their full potential. That begins with love, support and understanding from family. We want parents to make it clear to their kids that this is unconditional, no matter their sexuality or identity.”
From a creative perspective, Cocogun sought to normalise parental awkwardness while highlighting its importance.
“Most parents know that nervous, trepidatious feeling when knocking on their child’s bedroom door to have one of ‘those’ conversations,” said Ant Melder, Cocogun Creative Partner. “With this latest work, we remind parents that this is normal—but the positive effects of creating a safe, supportive, loving environment make working through the cringe more than worth it.”
UnLtd’s Impact Account Director Kath Solly emphasised the collaborative nature of the campaign. “This is another inspiring chapter in a powerful partnership between ourselves, Cocogun, Initiative and The Pinnacle Foundation. Each activation spreads the message further, encouraging awkward conversations and aiming to change the lives of young LGBTQIA+ people for the better.”
Danielle Galipienzo, Head of Impact at Initiative, said, “This campaign just goes from strength to strength. We’re honoured to support The Pinnacle Foundation and help change hearts and minds with this all-important message.”
The Make Awkward Awesome campaign demonstrates a strong alignment of creative, media strategy, and social impact, proving that thoughtful campaigns can drive meaningful conversations without traditional media spend, while cementing brand partnerships that deliver both awareness and change.
CREDITS
Client: The Pinnacle Foundation
CEO and Managing Director – Andrew Staite
Marketing Manager – Tim Lai
Social impact partner: UnLtd
Director of Impact – Jade Harley
Impact Account Director – Kath Solly
Creative agency: Cocogun
Creative Partner – Ant Melder
General Manager – Emily Hahn
Design Director – Chris Clausen
Media agency: Initiative
Group Business Director & Head of Initiative Impact – Danielle Galipienzo
Comms Design Manager – Joe Douglas
Investment Manager – Ashutosh Matai
Investment Associate – Kunal Mulani
Investment Associate – Max Rasmus
