Conservatives online are expressing new grievances against the LGBTQ+ community and companies supportive of them by digging up old ad campaigns, most recently by the automaker Ford.
Bud Light, via its partnership with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney, drew widespread attention and negative publicity for the brand's parent company, Anheuser-Busch, leading to top executives taking leaves of absence and drastic drops in sales.
Ford was mentioned on Twitter due to an ad that was resurrected by online users relating to the "Very Gay Raptor" that was initially introduced in the United Kingdom in June 2022.
A press release issued by the company ahead of the vehicle's appearance at the Goodwill Festival of Speed stated that its inclusion aimed to reaffirm the brand's "long-term commitment to LGBTQ+ allyship vehicle," adding that it "will be used to further initiate important discussions and aimed at driving out discrimination in the automotive industry, and beyond."
"Ford was arguably the most American manufacturer in our history," one Twitter user wrote, vowing to never buy vehicles from the brand again while also avoiding other companies aligned with the 'woke' movement. "Now bending the knee to Communist ESG scores."
"Ford released this ad just in time for gay pride month!!!!" another user tweeted. "Thank goodness I don't drive a Ford!!!"
"Ford: How to destroy 120 years of American car history in one minute," said another tweet. "I'm so sick of woke companies."
Other recent online backlashes have taken place against the following companies:
- Miller Lite, and its parent company, Molson Coors, due to an ad released in March during Women's History Month featuring actress and comedian Ilana Glazer. The ad aimed to celebrate female beer brewers while addressing the brand's past admitted objectification of women, leading to personal attacks on the company's chief marketing officer.
- Target recently released different clothing styles for LGBTQ+ Pride Month, which occurs in June, including a T-shirt with the slogan "trans people will always exist" and another showing a woman lying down with the caption "busy thinking about girls."
- Starbucks India was accused of "going full Bud Light" following an ad featuring parents and their transgender daughter meeting at one of the coffee giant's locations.
- Adidas has been chastised by some for using a biological male to showcase a women's swimsuit.
- Nike partnered with Mulvaney following her partnership with Bud Light, featuring her as a sports bra model.
- Jack Daniel's received criticism for a campaign in which it teamed up with drag queens from Ru Paul's Drag Race. The legendary whiskey maker calls Tennessee home—a state that was the first nationally to attempt to pass a drag show ban in the presence of children over concerns about their sexualized content.
'Inclusive Marketing Is a Win Across All Levels'
Joanna Schwartz, marketing professor at Georgia College & State University, told Newsweek via email that there's a relationship between the legislation that is occurring nationwide and these various calls for boycotts.
According to the Trans Legislation Tracker, which monitors and continually updates the number of anti-trans bills being introduced across state legislatures, 543 such bills have been introduced in 49 states in 2023 alone as of Thursday. Of them, 370 are active, 71 have passed and 102 have failed.
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- Broadway star jokes he's sponsored by Bud Light after calling brand "gay"
- Miller Lite's response to backlash is very different to Bud Light's
- Miller Lite actress slammed for calling Stephen Colbert "model white man"
As of January 19 of this year, 124 bills restricting LGBTQ+ rights had been introduced, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
"[Conservative groups have] been leading the fight for polarizing these issues and galvanizing support for it," Schwartz said. "Influencers are creating ways to use that [which] might create a splash, but the sheer number of firms that have inclusive advertising somewhere—although often in outlets that conservative viewers might not have seen before, or floats in Pride parades, or other support to organizations like GLAAD, and The Trevor Project, are vast.
"Very few firms completely ignore the target market. But how many firms can you really get mad at?"
It's difficult to find a brand that doesn't want to appeal to a mass audience, she added, saying that it is difficult to find a national beer that doesn't in some way support LGBTQ+ consumers—including products peddled by Kid Rock, who promoted Happy Dad seltzer, a company that has previously partnered with transgender figure Caitlyn Jenner.
Genevieve Weber, associate professor of counseling and mental health professions at Hofstra University, told Newsweek via phone that individuals who walk down store aisles see more than just racial and gender diversity; they also see body diversity and different ability status, etc.
"We now know based on research that symbolism and visibility, such as Pride flags, gender-neutral bathrooms, signage—these things are actually reducing anxiety and depression and increasing belonging," Weber said. "And when we see an increase in belonging, we see lower suicide. So, for me, it's a no-brainer: Inclusive marketing is a win across all levels for me."
Weber said there's a "transgender rights movement" at the forefront of American society today, which is causing some with a lack of understanding of gender dysphoria or what transgender means to draw contrasts.
"Political manipulation" regarding transgender people is nothing new, she added, though exacerbated by the quickness of how social media operates. Meeting such people face to face may change some minds.
"Social media, we can hide behind screens and we can comment and we can challenge and we can create fake profiles and express ourselves," she said. "But the truth is, when you are given the opportunity to be in a room, face to face with these individuals who are the ones finally being included in marketing, it's a powerful way to hear their voice to understand what you might not have understood before."
John Sovec, a California-based psychotherapist and author who has written about LGBTQ+ topics, told Newsweek via phone that all of these efforts are part of a long-term approach on behalf of certain societal segments.
He pointed to two pivotal moments, or movements, in American history: One was marriage equality decided by the Supreme Court, and the other was the lack of addressing of the AIDS epidemic by former President Ronald Reagan's administration.
"When we look at a more granular level when you talk to your friends, neighbors, community members, that most Americans out there are supportive of LGBTQ rights and an LGBTQ-affirming place in the world. ... There are actually a very, very small portion of very loud voices, trying to create a wave of hate sentiment to try and ride that political game," he said. "The challenge of that is, is we as LGBTQ people are becoming the fodder for [anti-trans bills and] it is becoming more and more dangerous."
Amani Wells-Onyioha, political strategist and operations director for Democratic consulting firm Sole Strategies, told Newsweek via phone that the social media aspect of these boycott efforts is providing legislators with a larger level of comfort to demonize certain individuals.
"Free speech is great and all that, but I do think there are limits," she said. "I don't like how hate speech has become so accepted nationally, and if you say anything about someone using hateful speech, then you are a snowflake or you're being sensitive, or you're trampling on my rights and free speech.
"And this isn't what the Founding Fathers meant when they were talking about free speech, and I feel like that talking point is very convenient when you're using hateful rhetoric; when you're using dangerous rhetoric."
Update 05/19/23, 9:25 a.m. ET: This story was updated to amend a quote by Genevieve Weber.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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