Founder and CEO of JSA+Partners, a strategic communications firm working with consumer tech, digital media and gaming companies.
Ever since the first New York City Pride March was held in 1970 to commemorate the anniversary of the historic Stonewall Uprising, Pride Month has served as a celebration of progress and a beacon of hope for the LGBTQ+ community. As society has made strides toward social awareness and progressive legislation, the celebrations have amplified and businesses across the globe have shown up to support. However, just as corporate sustainability campaigns have been perpetrators of “greenwashing”—posturing as more environmentally progressive than they actually are—“rainbow washing” has become just as widespread across Pride campaigns.
While using a business platform to support Pride is inherently positive, I believe the motivation needs to come from a place of authentic caring and genuine allyship. We’ve witnessed the highs and lows of Pride campaigns in recent years, from Tinder’s 2022 campaign that spotlighted a major legislative sticking point to, Bud Light’s poorly delivered statement that had advocacy groups shaking their heads in disappointment. I’ve identified three key guidelines that are important to keep in mind for brands traveling down the rainbow rabbit hole.
True pride never panders.
It’s no secret that Pride is politically charged, and brands often face unfortunate (while inevitable) backlash from certain audience segments when they make a public statement or release a product line in support of the LGBTQ+ community. This year, Target faced calls for boycott and customer backlash (paywall) both in-store on social media for their latest pro-Pride merchandise, including children’s books that address transgender issues and gender fluidity. The retailer responded by removing items that provoked confrontational behavior, citing potential safety threats to store employees. After releasing a statement that reinforced their commitment to the LGBTQ+ community, audiences and advocacy groups criticized Target for caving to pressure and failing to fully commit.
Similarly, Bud Light recently incited a boycott and digital smear campaign from far-right audiences after posting a social media collaboration with trans content creator Dylan Mulvaney. Bud Light sales plummeted as a result, and when the company’s vague statement failed to show support for Mulvaney or the trans community, the company angered consumers on both sides of the issue.
While Pride campaigns often run the risk of alienating certain audience segments, these instances go to show that backpedaling or pandering to upset audiences ultimately backfires, discounting the groups that the campaign originally intended to support. Companies need to carefully consider their approach and understand that while some might not support their point of view, changing their tune to appease certain groups can be a major detriment to building brand affinity and consumer trust across the board.
Illuminate the blind spots.
One of the most common criticisms of Pride campaigns has to do with their overall thoughtlessness—using rainbow colors on packaging or merchandise alongside uninspiring messaging. To create a well-received campaign, dig deeper by using your platform to shine a light on specific issues at the heart of the LGBTQ+ community as well as underrepresented groups that are often misunderstood by the general public.
For example, rather than launching a run-of-the-mill campaign, in 2022, the dating app Tinder decided to tackle the divisive issue of the ban on many LGBTQ+ men donating blood. Partnering with the Human Rights Campaign advocacy group, they set out to raise awareness around a 40-year-old policy believed to stigmatize a large portion of the community. The campaign called for the FDA to lift restrictions, while actively promoting and recruiting participants for the ADVANCE study, which aims to disprove claims behind the ban and make blood donation more inclusive.
Leverage the community.
Just as Hollywood often receives backlash for hiring cisgender, heterosexual actors to play queer characters, the communications architects behind Pride campaigns have a responsibility to involve the community. This might look like spotlighting the LGBTQ+ voices of customers and employees or utilizing them for focus groups and market research as they build out these campaigns.
In 2021, Chevrolet launched their first Authentic Voices of Pride series in collaboration with LGBTQ Nation. The series consisted of deep dive editorials plus documentary-style interviews with celebrities, influencers and everyday people from the LGBTQ+ community to share their stories and experiences in relation to the community’s most important issues, like the challenges queer couples face when trying to adopt children in conservative states. Chevrolet also made sizable donations to five charities that tackled the same issues addressed within the campaign. The series is in its third season this year, and even won a coveted Shorty Award. The campaign found success by calling attention to the not-so-glamorous issues that matter to the community most, rather than relying on surface level messaging or shallow support.
While Pride campaigns can be tricky territory to navigate for businesses, the common thread throughout these lessons is the importance of ensuring that messaging comes from an authentic place of allyship. To truly resonate, a brand’s campaign must dig beyond contrived, “fluff marketing” and demonstrate that they’re listening and engaging with the issues that matter most to the communities in the thick of it.
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