Here at Ben & Jerry’s, we’ve always believed that love is love, no matter who you are and who your special someone is. Way back in 1989, we were the first major employer in our state of Vermont, USA to offer health insurance benefits to domestic partners of employees, regardless of their gender.

The Language of Ice Cream

Over the years, we’ve supported the fight for marriage equality for LGBT folks all over the globe in the best way we know of — with ice cream! In 2009 we celebrated marriage equality in Vermont by renaming Chubby Hubby to Hubby Hubby. In 2012 we supported marriage equality in the UK with a new flavor: Apple-y Ever After. A year later, we did the same for Australia with I Say I Dough, and made an insurmountable impact in Ireland with Yestivals. We’ve made strong strides with Yes, I Dough in Germany, Hooked On You in the Netherlands, and celebrated the US’s marriage equality ruling in 2015 by renaming Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough to I Dough, I Dough.

What can we say, we speak the language of ice cream.

Big, Bright, And Proud

So we were thrilled to be a part of Warsaw’s Pride Parade this year in the biggest, brightest way possible. After a rainbow installation in Saviour Square in Warsaw was vandalized seven times between 2012 and 2015 by opponents of LGBT rights, activists decided it was time for something that was as enduring as love itself. We partnered with Milość Nie Wyklucza (Love Does Not Exclude Association) and Fundacja Wolontariat Rowności to install this colorful water rainbow light projection just in time for Warsaw’s Pride Parade. 

Crowds gathered as beams of bright, colorful light illuminated the empty city square, stopping passerbys in their tracks and creating an instantaneous flutter of intrigue  — an unassailable representation of inclusivity, equality, and bright hope for the future of Poland.

Ola Muzińska, Chairperson of Love Does Not Exclude Association, said: “This unbreakable rainbow shines a light on the need for equal rights for the LGBT community, and aims to champion love and marriage equality in Poland. We want to bring as many people into the movement as possible over the next few years, because after all love is love!

Martyna Kaczmarek of Ben & Jerry’s Poland said, “Love comes in all flavours, and we believe that everyone should be able to love who they love! We hope this unbreakable rainbow light projection will connect people to the issue of LGBT rights and marriage equality in Poland, and that together we can drive lasting change.”

So raise a spoon to love, equality, and standing up for what you believe in in the brightest way possible!

#loveislove #unbreakablerainbow