The Era of ‘Woke’ Brand Activism Is Over

In May 2019, Gillette published a announcement On Facebook just in time for the month of pride. He featured Samson Bonkeabantu Brown – a black Toronto artist and a trans man – applying how to shave for the first time.

“I entered my transition which wanted to be happy. I’m glad I’m when I am able to shave, “says Brown in the video; Later, he saw shaving while his father smiled and encouraged him from behind his shoulder.

“Don’t be afraid. The shaving is being confident,” said Brown’s father, repeating: “You’re fine.”

The announcement went viralreceiving national information coverage, industry awardsAnd to rent out LGBT defenders. THE Ellen Show tweeted that it was “nothing less than the incredible”.

Gillette was not the only one to create a buzzing announcement on the LGBT community as a marketing strategy; Over the past two decades, there has been a regular increase in brands and companies adopting pride, a tendency sometimes criticized as being superficial, or “pink”. But, as a person who has worked in marketing for more than a decade, if you had the impression that this month of pride was much quieter than the years ago, you do not imagine it.

Five months after Donald Trump’s second presidential term, his Decrees against Dei and LGBT rights influenced a growing number of high -level business brands to abandon marketing and programming that could be considered too progressive, forcing Pride And JUNETEH Celebrations across the country to withdraw. At the same time, there has been an influx of brands doubling nationalist messages in advertising, some of which seem to be linked to the prices and the fixing of Trump on American manufacturing goods.

“I heard stories of destroying customers … references to old work or old programs to try to erase this path online because they are afraid of being attacked,” explains Mark, creative director and former creative director of a New York advertising agency who did not want her real name to be used because of the reactions and potential repercussions. Where there were “a lot of activities and a lot of discussions on questions of social justice,” he adds, there is now an “emptiness of silence”.

Welcome to the Trumpian era of anti-award capitalism. Please check your pronouns at the door.

Advertising is a The most popular and popular forms of cultural messaging in America, and the signs of Trump’s “anti-alarm” cultural crusade are everywhere in our televisions, on our Instagram flows and in our communities.

According to a Gravity Research survey, 39% of the companies questioned have planned to reduce Initiatives for the month of pride In 2025, none planned to increase their commitments. And World Pride, who has just been held in Washington, DC, would only have received 30% of its 3 million visitors previously projected.

Mastercard, who launched a Omnichannel pride campaign for months Called “your real self is invaluable” in 2022 and, only a few years ago, which developed the widely rented “True Name” initiative This has defended the identity of the transgender Americans, has not made their debut in the email of pride so far this year. Instead, it is Quiet withdraws as a high -level sponsor of New York’s pride this yearWith Pepsico, Nissan, Citi and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Target, after receiving the curator backlash For its collections of proud goods mocked on the truth.