The launch of a campaign for same-sex marriage in Sydney's CBD was unexpectedly gatecrashed by promoters of Lady Gaga's new single in Sydney's Martin Place - but the organisers didn't mind.
The campaign by activist group GetUp and Australian Marriage Equality features a television commercial starring identical twin brothers Paul and David Battye.
Despite sharing the same clothes and toys while growing up, Australian law prevents Paul, who was best man at his twin's wedding, from also marrying, because of his sexual orientation.
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"I can reflect on how that must feel if you don't have the opportunity to ask the person that you love to marry," Paul says in the commercial, which airs on national television from Monday.
GetUp national director Simon Sheikh says the organisation opted to take on gay marriage as a cause, after polling indicated two thirds of Australians consistently supported it.
"During the federal election, it became evident that marriage equality was an issue Australians cared about despite the major parties' failure to address it," he told AAP.
But Mr Sheikh said people tended not to voice concerns on issues that didn't affect them directly, hence the need to launch the campaign.
"GetUp is working with AME to launch this national campaign, and we will be urging our 430,000 members to actively fight for change, so that politicians can no longer ignore the fact that all Australians are equal - regardless of their sexual orientation - and that their relationships should be recognised as such."
A giant wedding cake, two metres square and adorned with a big red heart to mark Valentine's Day, was cut up and handed out at the launch in Martin Place on Monday.
A group of young women dressed in flesh-coloured leotards, black high heels and long blonde hair also unexpectedly graced the scene.
Holding a banner reading Australian Marriage Equality that campaigners had given them, they appeared to be part of the launch.
They were actually just passing through after finishing promoting Lady Gaga's new single, Born This Way, at the top end of Martin Place.
"We were hoping it was Lady Gaga's way of endorsing the cause, but that wasn't really the case," Mr Sheikh said.
