Companies to scale back LGBT campaigns for pride after Bud Light, Target boycotts last year: report

As Pride Month begins this year, many companies will reportedly be scaling back their LGBTQ+ advocacy campaigns following significant backlash and boycotts last year.  

Last year, brands like Target and Bud Light experienced notable market declines and loss of value after their pride-themed promotions became targets of nationwide boycotts. 

Industry analysts suggest that companies will adopt a more subdued approach to Pride merchandise this year, per USA Today. Pink Media President Matt Skallerud acknowledged the challenges faced by the media, marketing, and advertising sectors, telling the outlet, “Nobody in the media, marketing and advertising world wants to admit how heavy and hard this has been.” 

“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,” he added. 

Neil Saunders, Managing Director of GlobalData, echoed this sentiment, highlighting the difficulty in satisfying all consumer expectations.  

“If you promote Pride, some people will be unhappy with it,” he explained. “If you don’t promote Pride, some people will be unhappy about that. It’s not a battle you can win completely, which is why some retailers and brands are taking a middle-of-the-road approach and keeping it moderate,” 

“They are doing some promotion but they are restricting it to things that they think are palatable and acceptable for most people,” Saunders concluded. 

Target, who last year received backlash for pride-themed merchandise including swimwear for transgender-identifying individuals, is reportedly planning to offer pride merchandise in a limited number of stores and online. The company announced that it would be offering a collection of products curated on consumer feedback. 

“The collection will be available on Target.com and in select stores, based on historical sales performance,” the company said in May, leading up to pride month. 

Similarly to Target, Anheuser-Busch lost $395 million in US sales, per CNN, after it partnered with trans-identified male, Dylan Mulvaney in a promotion deal for the beer brand Bud Light. The beer was branded across the country as “woke” as many customers sought to buy alternatives to the well-known drink.  

Bottling plants for the company shut down and the company ended up backtracking the campaign with Mulvaney.