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Activism, Good World

When DEI and Representation Fails: LGBTQ Tokenism in Advertising

Jlavraie25 contributor
Jlavraie25

Most brands using rainbow colors in June often can't do the bare minimum to support their LGBTQ employees and community

The demand for representation, diversity, and inclusion has transformed the advertising world in the last decade and even more dramatically in the previous few years. With the global push towards brands representing the general population in their ads and content, a new issue has arisen: trying to appeal to everybody often leads to not appealing to anybody. It also usually means brands resort to tokenism, casting models, spokespeople, or influencers who are part of marginalized groups for their ad materials, without real consideration of the challenges and needs of that community or the repercussions a public campaign can have on its participants.

Consumers are not entirely fooled, and on several occasions, brands have been called out for trying to profit off the challenges faced by the diverse talent they're using. In other cases, when the campaigns are focused on a festivity, such as Pride Month or Black History Month, brands seek to profit from entire communities that continue facing life-or-death challenges. Generally, advertisers have made strides when it comes to genuine DEI efforts, but instances where those efforts have backfired continue to make headlines, especially as LGBTQ rights and, most notably, transgender rights continue to become weaponized and politicized by elected officials and the media.

Bud Light and Dylan Mulvaney, April 2023: The Anheuser-Bush company has received continuous backlash after partnering with transgender activist and influencer Dylan Mulvaney for an ad campaign in early April. The campaign features Mulvaney drinking a Bud Light can featuring her image, celebrating one year of her transition journey. The attacks towards the company and Mulvaney rained quickly after the campaign's release, with conservative groups calling for a boycott and sales dipping 17% within two weeks of the ad. An angry consumer even released his own beer brand as an "anti-woke" response, calling it "Conservative Dad's Ultra Right."

This level of public response to the campaign does not come as a surprise when we consider the social and political upheaval around transgender rights currently happening in the US. However, Bud Light's comments did not hit the mark when defending their decision and supporting Mulvaney. After days of silence following the campaign's release, CEO Brendan Whitworth said that the brand "never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer." A statement that does not address the delicate nature of the topic and the people it's affecting, starting with their influencer pick. This statement and Bud Light's decision to capture a wider audience without measuring repercussions is a testament to careless tokenism.

Pride month campaigns are a yearly reminder of the prevalence of performative allyship and tokenism in advertising. As consumers, we have gotten used to seeing rainbow flags magically appear in the social media feeds and ads of brands across the spectrum. "Rainbow washing" or "rainbow capitalism" are the standard terms to describe a brand's lazy efforts to profit from the LGBTQ community and its allies. Often, it takes only quick research to realize that most brands using rainbow colors in June often can't do the bare minimum to support their LGBTQ employees and the community. The Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index provides a comprehensive annual benchmarking tool that rates corporations' commitment to LGBTQ rights and can be used to gauge a brand's internal policies and how aligned they are with their external campaigns.

So when we talk about DEI in advertising, can brands actually get it right? Yes! There are many ways in which advertisers can show their genuine commitment to the people they're using in their campaigns. Starting with corporate policies that protect and support LGBTQ employees, auditing their manufacturing processes and other corporate partnerships, and supporting nonprofits and organizations with tangible donations that go to said communities. After these internal actions are completed, brands should focus on having a creative team that reflects that community and can produce genuinely reflective assets devoid of tired and damaging stereotypes. Representation and progress are possible but require more effort than a rainbow flag post.

Sources:

#LGBTQ+ #advertising #ads #campaigns

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