Brands’ retreat from Pride costs them credibility

This year, Pride Month saw a marked decrease in ad spending and corporate engagement with the LGBTQ+ community. It would be easy to see this as a loss for that community, which had to scramble as corporations canceled sponsorships of Pride Parades and similar events. It would also be wrong. The losers are the brands that lost their credibility with consumers of all political persuasions. 

The decreased ad spend is part of a trend that began in 2023. That year, Bud Light’s sponsorship of transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney sparked possibly the most successful product boycott in U.S. history, one which ended its decades-long run as the nation’s best-selling beer.

Dig deeper: Target’s DEI retreat: Inclusivity was never more than a marketing stunt

Furthermore, Gravity Research’s 2025 Pride Pulse Poll, conducted in late March, found: 

• 39% of brand executives planned to reduce their spending on Pride-related marketing, compared to 9% in 2024.
• 37% of respondents said they plan to decrease their sponsorships of external Pride events, like festivals.
• No respondents planned to increase spending in the area.

The Bud Light boycott wasn’t the primary reason for these decisions. Almost two-thirds (61%) of the executives surveyed changed their Pride marketing strategies because of actions by the Trump administration.  

Pride-related marketing was cut bigly

Numbers from June show the scope of these changes.

An analysis of social media content and ad campaigns over the last twelve months by influencer marketing firm Buzzoole found a 21% decrease in content related to diversity and inclusion compared to the previous year. During Pride Month, content posted between June 1 and 18 fell 43% compared to the same period in 2024, with ADV volumes declining by 49%.

Last month, the number of U.S. brands publishing Pride-related hashtags on Facebook dropped by more than half from last year, according to Emplifi. 

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The LGBTQ+ community, like any marginalized group, is hypervigilant about representation in all forms of media. They are willing to boycott brands that withdraw support, with 80% ready to take action against brands that retreat, according to a Pew survey.

They are understandably suspicious of brands’ motivations for including cultural holidays in advertising, especially if it only happens during Pride Month or feeds into stereotypes. The Pew survey found that 68% of LGBTQ+ adults (and 54% of straight/cis adults) believe Pride marketing is “mainly for profit.” 

Brands aren’t fooling consumers

“Consumers are sensitive and aware of companies using greenwashing, pridewashing, pinkwashing and using diversity, equity and inclusion to further their brand in marketing,” said Nicole Kyle, managing director and co-founder of CMP Research. “It shouldn’t come as a surprise. Consumers are more informed now than they’ve ever been.”

That’s bad for fair-weather brands but good for the ones that stick around through tough times. Emplifi’s research found that engagement with brands’ Pride-related Facebook posts more than doubled compared to 2024, and they had more engagement than in the previous three years. 

Being inconsistent on important issues hurts brands with the community they were pandering to—it hurts them with everybody. Research by Australia’s University of New South Wales found liberal and conservative consumers dislike brands that appear inauthentic or opportunistic in their political stances. That’s true regardless of whether they agree or disagree with the brand’s new or old stance. 

Just look at what is happening to Target. It was a reliable sponsor of Pride and spotlighted products from Black-owned companies during Black History Month for years. So, you can imagine consumers’ surprise when, on January 24th — four days after President Trump’s second inauguration — CEO Brian Cornell very loudly announced he was doing away with DEI initiatives. Since then, the company’s stock has fallen 26%, from 142.5 to 102, it has slashed its earnings outlook for the rest of the year and store foot traffic has declined monthly.