Corporations—entities that have long capitalized on social causes in pursuit of profit—seem to be one upon themselves. A clear pullback in Pride Month marketing this year.
Joanna Schwartz, a marketing professor who studies outreach to LGBTQ audiences at Georgia College and State University, told Vox, “There’s a certain scaling back in both big and small ways.” “I expected some brand awareness, but this year it seems [to be] A near full-scale retreat.”
Multiple marketing experts Vox noted that some stores have scaled back their messaging or decided to offer less merchandise — and, e.g The Associated Press put it, “In some chains, there’s no trace of pride.”
Aim, for example, to declare that It will limit the sale of proud products Roughly Half of its shopsWhen Nike said it This year will not launch a pride collection. (A Target spokeswoman reiterated the company’s commitment to the LGBTQ community and pointed to its support of internal programs, pride products and private events. A Nike spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)
The announcements come in the wake of the conservative backlash directed at Bud Light in 2023, following its social media partnership with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Target, likewise, has been the subject of Republican attacks for its pride displays and trans-inclusive clothing.
It’s important to note that not every company responded this way. Brands like American Eagle and Levi’s have maintained and expanded their Pride merchandise lines. Schwartz noted that while some companies may have dialed down prominent displays for Pride, many are still sponsoring parades and donating to nonprofits, a way to show their support without being too obnoxious.
don’t like it Target’s rainbow bandanas for dogs Always be the end-all, be-all of equality. “Recognition as a Consumer Base is a Characteristic of Minority Progress in America,” Naveen Kumar wrote for them in 2019But, she added, commercial visibility never meant victory for the queer rights movement.
While some companies are making visible changes, they still send a relevant message. As Republicans step up their attacks on LBGTQ people with policies Impeding trans rights and access to health careAdvocates worry that companies’ willingness to cave in to these attacks makes them seemingly condone
“When they retreat in fear, they put the queer community at risk of harassment, intimidation and violence,” said Paul Irwin-Dudek, deputy executive director of development at GLSEN, an LGBTQ rights advocacy group.
How we got here
This year’s Pride offers follow conservative pushback on a handful of specific campaigns over the past year.
“The goal is to poison the ‘conceit’ for the brand,” Matt Walsh, a conservative pundit, said at X In 2023. “If they decide to put this garbage in our faces, they should know that they will pay a price. What they think they will gain will not be worth it.”
Specifically, people on the right boycotted Bud Light after working with Mulvaney and sent him some free beer. The business consequences of that boycott were particularly frightening, experts say. After the GOP attack, Bud Light sales fell 28 percent compared to the same period last year. Harvard Business Review explains. A CNN Business Report Shows that the boycott likely cost the brand more than $1 billion in lost sales.
Target was also attacked in 2023 for selling items during Pride month, including a swimsuit aimed at trans customers. The outcry prompted the company to remove some Pride items from its stores “due to threats to affect our team members’ sense of safety and well-being at work.” Target said that negative attention from the controversy also caused A His sales sink.
Both of these cases have made some brands more cautious this year. “From my perspective, companies seem to be trying to maintain support for LGBTQ issues but in ways that are less controversial or public,” said Daniel Korschun, a marketing professor at Drexel University. “They’re upset.”
Tim Bennett, a co-founder of Tribari, a firm that specializes in marketing to LGBTQ audiences, said he’s seen very few clients reaching out for Pride Month collaborations. “Talking to my peers, most of us are experiencing the same pullback or wait-and-see approach,” he told Vox. LGBTQ dominantAlso, they said they saw fewer brand sponsorships this year.
It is not universal. GLAAD and the Human Rights Campaign, both diverse advocacy groups, say they continue to see strong corporate commitments and that some companies may be moving away from Pride Month-specific investments to more consistent and year-round investments. A 2024 Survey of Fortune 500 Leaders Gravity Research found that 78 percent of companies did not intend to change their Pride Month approach, while 9 percent intended and 13 percent were unsure.
That same survey found that the industry most likely to change its outlook this year was consumer goods, with 30 percent of companies in the sector saying they planned to do so.
Cave sends a related message to conservatives
Over the past decade, several organizations have painted themselves Committed to liberal causes To appeal to potential employees and customers. Often, these initiatives — including solving problems like Racial equality And Climate consciousness — Short-lived, leading progressive advocates that such efforts are mere posturing. The decision by some brands to pull back from their Pride marketing seemingly confirms these accusations and sends a worrying signal about the current US political climate.
Polling from PRRI in 2024 It found that, in 2023, 76 percent of US adults supported policies that protect LGBTQ people from discrimination. That’s still an overwhelming majority, but it’s a slight decrease from the 80 percent who said the same in 2022.
Companies’ willingness to cave to conservatives ultimately gives their views more strength as Republicans continue these attacks. Republican officials have tried to limit the teaching of LGBTQ stories in schools, for example, and many states have passed restrictive laws. Access to health care for trans people.
“When young people see anti-gay and anti-trans bills being introduced nationwide and corporations withdrawing their support, it reinforces the harmful perception that the LGBTQ+ community is ‘less than’ and undeserving of basic human rights,” said Irwin-Dudek. – Dudek
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