When we see a company that is throwing their support behind Pride, we have to ask ourselves, are they pinkwashing?
Pinkwashing – used to describe various forms of cause marketing. … Pinkwashing (LGBT) – the promotion of the gay-friendliness of a corporate or political entity in an attempt to downplay or soften aspects of it considered negative.
Are companies just going rainbow to get our money? Or are they actually saying hey, we support you, not just this month, but every month.
Here are three companies that have shown their pride and we think they did a good job!
LEVI'S
From Levi's "Off the Cuff" series, we find this compilation video of all of their small pieces of their campaign.
Every year, we create a Pride collection to celebrate our friends and family in the LGBTQ community. It’s a way to increase visibility, get more people involved in the push for equality and give back.
Made with self-expression in mind, this year’s collection celebrates the many ways people can customize their Levi’s® to show the world who they are. We centered our designs around the “I AM” tee as a big way to make a personal declaration and encourage people to put their unique style on display.
In addition to the collection, we wanted to show how members of the LGBTQ communtiy live their lives — real, raw and unedited. To do that, we asked some pioneers and activists to share their stories. Meet our 2018 Pride cast. – Levis.com
Society puts pressure on every one of us to fit into a construct, a category, a box. But magic happens when we don’t fit that mold—better yet, when we defy it. Our 2018 Pride campaign is about being proud, bold, and most of all, being yourself. We feature seven strong individuals, from activist iO Tillett Wright to drag queen Juanita MORE! and chef Melissa King, sharing their stories of love, acceptance, community and who they are. Show your pride with #LevisPride
Yes, Levi's of course is selling rainbow clothing.
When you entered the Target down here in Fort Lauderdale near Wilton Manors, Florida, it was a rainbow explosion! They definitely wanted us looking good for our Pride celebrations.
We’re here to celebrate with the vibrant members of the LGBTQ+ community. The poets. The artists. The dancers. Those who describe themselves as fierce, thoughtful, loving and fabulous. Those who take pride in simply being themselves. – Target.com
I quickly browsed through the pages where people gave their pics. I thought it was well done and inspiring.
VERIZON
To the commercial that made me tear up every time, have flashbacks to my own phone call (done on AT&T), and say wow, a company is using their $$$ to put this on television, I say bravo Verizon.
As people from the LGBTQ community come out to their loved ones over the phone, they are overwhelmed and brought to tears by the supportive responses they receive. Verizon knows how important conversation can be and the phone company believes its job is to make sure every call goes through. The provider invites you to join it in supporting PFLAG's help network and the LGBTQ community.
I'll share the actual commercial here and share the commercial and explanation behind the commercial at the end of this post. Tissues at the ready.
But one company tried to show its pride, actually tried to show the longevity of its pride, but was shut out by Facebook.
PROCTOR & GAMBLE
You probably have used a P&G product three times today. It's one of the world's largest companies (Tide, Pampers, Gilette, etc.) and one of the biggest spenders when it comes to advertising, spends more than $7 billion marketing each year.
Facebook decided to remove a Procter & Gamble advertisement from their social media service deeming it inadequately labeled as "political" and it lacked a "paid for by" tag in violation of new rules aimed at misleading political ads. The ad was done to promote a new mini-documentary P&G produced with CNN titled "The Words Matter: One Voice Can Make a Difference."
Target clothes were great. Levi's videos were uplifting. Verizon hit it out of the park and took us there emotionally. Proctor & Gamble did a "look at us" video that most of us did not know about and we should.
When Michael Chanak took a job at Procter & Gamble in the mid 1980s, the AIDS epidemic was rampant. The company had found a niche with Peridex—a prescription mouthwash used to treat thrush in people suffering from HIV/AIDS. But despite selling to the LGBT community, P&G had no language protecting these individuals within the company. Chanak, who’d become a vocal gay rights activist, wanted to change that. With years of work and help from a small but determined group of colleagues, in 1992, P&G became one of the first Fortune 500 companies to add sexual orientation to its equal employment opportunity (EEO) statement of diversity. Twenty-five years later, that legacy lives on. This is the story of one man’s efforts to hold a corporation responsible and ultimately improve the lives of LGBT workers across the country.
Here's a 2-minute preview of the
The full 19-minute video below really shows some of the powerful moments in LGBT history in the United States and shows how P&G was there through it all. This was a pleasure to watch. Thank you P&G and CNN.
Have you seen other companies that deserve a nod from the LGBTQ+ community over their support of our Pride?
Do you think there are companies are pinkwashing?
Do you think there should be an "Official Stonewall Business Pride Checklist" before companies are allowed to use the rainbow and pride in advertising?
Or is it just up to the consumer to realize when companies are just jumping on our LGBTQ+ Pride coat tails in order to get our LGBTQ+ money or when they truly support our community?
Full Verizon commercial and explanation.
h/t" forbes.com , usatoday.com