Each June, brands across the globe take part in Pride Month to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. In this blog, we’ll explore how various brands have successfully used Pride Month to demonstrate their commitment to inclusivity and support for LGBTQ+ rights.
What is Pride Month?
Pride is celebrated in the month of June, as that was the month when the Stonewall riots took place. In New York City’s Greenwich Village, at the Stonewall Inn, important protests took place in June 1969, that changed gay rights for a lot of people in America and around the world.
Pride Month is a time for people to come together to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and show support, as a member or ally. As individuals, people showcase support of Pride in a variety of ways, online and in person. This can range from social media posts, to sharing supportive Pride content, profile picture frames, parades, clothing, and many more.
Here’s some example campaigns…
Procter and Gamble- #CantCancelPride
Back in 2020, the world was still struggling with the global pandemic and the LGBTQ+ community and allies were set to miss a summer not being able to celebrate Pride in a typical way. Then, Procter and Gamble (P&G) created #CantCancelPride. This was a campaign that not only brought people together but also fundraised to support the community. Together with iHeartRadio, P&G brought together some of the biggest names in culture and entertainment. P&G started the campaign in 2020, but it also continued through 2021 and 2022.
In its first two years, Can’t Cancel Pride has raised over $8.3 million, providing grants to more than 190 LGBTQ+ community centres and organisations. Whilst providing positivity and resources, P&G was also spreading awareness with a viral hashtag, and many shared the event. Additionally, because of #CantCancel Pride, The Trevor Project was able to continue building TrevorSpace, a free, safe, moderated online social media networking site for LGBTQ+ youth in more than 100 countries.
LEGO- “A-Z of Awesome”
A family favourite brand, LEGO, announced their first ever LGBTQ+ set back in 2021 to mark Pride Month. This was created by Matthew Ashton, Vice President of Design at the LEGO Group. The “Everyone is Awesome” set reflected the brand’s belief that LEGO is for everyone regardless of race, gender, or sexuality.
Part of the campaign recognised inclusivity within the workplace, featuring interviews with LGBTQ+ employees at LEGO that were shared on social media. The viral hashtag used during Pride Month 2021, #EveryoneIsAwesome, was used over 18K times on Instagram, and consumers were able to share their own #EveryoneIsAwseome creations. Not only was this a really positive and uplifting campaign, but it also spread brand awareness and increased to desire to be a part of the trend.
This year, LEGO’s Pride Month campaign was #AtoZofAwesome. For this campaign, LEGO invited the community to build a colourful alphabet of identities out of LEGO bricks. Similar to last year, the drive to get creative and be part of a good cause inspired many consumers to take part. Using the characters L, G, B, T, Q, I, A and +, LEGO fans all around the world took part whilst sharing the #AtoZofAwesome on social media.
