Companies Are Scaling Back ‘Pride Month’ Celebrations Over Fears of Conservative Boycotts

Major American companies are scaling back their “Pride Month” celebrations over fears that they may become subject to a conservative boycott.

Pride celebrations last the entire month of June, and over recent years, companies have gone all out to promote LGBT products, services, influencers, parades, and other related activities.

However, conservative boycotts against companies such as Target and Bud Light have made executives think twice about shoving rainbow flags down the throats of their customers.

USA Today notes:

Love-themed Mickey Mouse backpacks. Pronoun pins. “Not a Phase” hoodies. “So gay for each other” greeting cards.  Every year, national brands cozy up to LGBTQ+ Americans with colorful merchandise for Pride Month. This June, those displays may not be as loud and proud.

…

Mainstream brands used to brush off anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment. That changed last year when conservatives organized boycotts online that slashed sales.

National retail chain Target moved its Pride displays from the entrances to the back of stores after conservative activists confronted employees and vandalized displays. This year, Target is scaling back its Pride collection and won’t carry the collection in all stores.

Bud Light, owned by beer giant Anheuser-Busch, is still struggling after last year’s conservative blowback over a social media campaign with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

Last month, Target made a point of emphasizing that its Pride collection will focus on “adult apparel” after they were found to be promoting LGBT propaganda for children. 

“We’re offering a collection of products, including adult apparel and home and food and beverage items, curated based on consumer feedback,” the company stated. “The collection will be available on Target.com and in select stores, based on historical sales performance.”

Bud Light, meanwhile, publicly acknowledged the damage that the partnership with Mulvaney had done to their company.

“We recognize that over the last two months, the discussion surrounding our company and Bud Light has moved away from beer, and this has impacted our consumers, our business partners, and our employees.,” the company said in a statement last year. “We are a beer company, and beer is for everyone.”

Matt Skallerud, president of Pink Media, an organization that “helps brands reach the LGBTQ+ demographic,” told the newspaper that the media is refusing to admit how badly the boycotts have affected them.

“Especially during Pride season, most companies like ours are pretty busy working on Pride projects. I can tell you for myself, I have not been, and I think it’s across the board,” he said.

“Nobody in the media, marketing and advertising world wants to admit how heavy and hard this has been,” he said. “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.”

While this may not be the end of Pride Month, it certainly indicates that the whole concept may be in decline. Conservatives should learn from this victory and continue voting with their wallets and support companies that align with their values.

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