As I am sure you are well aware, June is “pride” month. As such, this is when most companies trot out their more left-leaning agendas, put rainbows on everything, and make a big deal of making the unnatural normal.
But this year, you won’t see as much of that as previously.
Why?
To put it simply, let’s blame Bud Light and Target.
You likely remember that in the past year or so, both companies decided to push the LGBT agenda a bit. Bud Light teamed up with controversial trans social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney. And Target agreed to start selling “tuck it” swimsuits for kids.
Let’s just say that neither went over all that well with the American public.
As a result, both companies have lost millions at this point in revenue and shares, not to mention customer trust and approval. And it’s sent out a huge message to other companies.
USA Today reported that while companies like Disney, Target, Planet Fitness, Walmart, Levi Strauss, and many more will still likely put out “pride” collections and specialty items, the question is no longer “How can we maximize our pride visibility?” but “What can we do to show pride support without alienating huge consumer bases?”
So, as the outlet says, “Expect fewer rainbow logos for LGBTQ Pride Month.”
The bad news for these companies is that they have been put in a no-win situation, at least in part. No matter what they choose, to support LGBT or not, someone is going to be unhappy.
However, the conservative agenda seems to be winning here. According to a recent Axios/Harris poll of US left-leaning businesses, “nearly two-thirds” of the companies “saw their total reputation quotients decline.” About 44 percent of Americans said they no longer trust such companies, especially when DEI initiatives were present.
And so, most are scaling way back and choosing more of a middle-of-the-road stance.
As Pink Media strategist Matt Skallerud had to admit, “Ever since Target and Bud Light had their fiascos last year, a tremendous number of brands have decided it would be much better to sit on the sidelines and let this sort itself out.”
They may do some promotion of LGBT, but it won’t be anything like the years of old.
Way to hold these companies accountable, America.
