| BY Ricki Green |

Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) through its We Love Our Lamb brand, has announced a major sponsorship of the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade, further demonstrating Lamb’s commitment to bringing people together and celebrating inclusivity.

The sponsorship continues on from MLA’s most recent lamb campaigns under the “You Never Lamb Alone” platform, which focus on celebrating diversity and championing equal representation in the media.

The We Love Our Lamb float will feature a digital billboard created by Ensemble and UM, that will allow any Australian, no matter where they are, to be a part of the Mardi Gras parade, in an effort to make the event even more inclusive. This first of its kind, the float will play videos of members of the LGBTIQ community and their supporters from across the country performing a dance created by We Love Our Lamb.

Featuring aptly named moves such as ‘The Rack’ and ‘The Rump’ set to the tune of Haddaway’s ‘What Is Love’, the float will be accompanied by a contingent of lamb-loving, shank-shaking dancers as it joins the rest of the parade through Oxford Street.

To join the celebration, supporters simply need to learn the dance and upload a video of them performing all or part of it on the We Love Our Lamb Facebook page.

The sponsorship launched yesterday at Mardi Gras’ Fair Day with Australian cook and lamb lover, Hayden Quinn in attendance at the We Love Our Lamb stand, encouraging Fair-goers to learn the dance and upload videos on the spot. Drag queen mega-star Verushka Darling continuing on from her recent involvement in the Celebrating Australia campaign, was also on-site to lend a manicured hand and get people dancing.

Says Andrew Howie, group marketing manager at MLA: “”You Never Lamb Alone” is all about coming together, celebrating diversity and championing equality, so it was natural for Lamb to join in the ultimate celebration of this – the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. This sponsorship allows us to continue the story and unite with supporters everywhere to celebrate – plus, it’s not a party without lamb on the menu!”

The Mardi Gras sponsorship and activation will be supported by a national print and digital partnership with the Star Observer, in addition to outdoor and social.

The public can submit videos from today with entries closing on Tuesday 28 February

MLA – Group Marketing Manager – Andrew Howie

MLA – Lamb Brand Manager – Matthew Dwyer

Activation – Ensemble

Media Agency – UM