Activists Call Out Brands for Funding Anti-LGBTQ+ Lawmakers

Earlier this week, activists gathered at the Stonewall Inn—the Greenwich Village bar known for its critical role in the LGBTQ+ rights movement—to pour a bunch of beer out onto the pavement. These pour-outs weren't tributes to lost friends, though. Instead, the activists were emptying Stonewall's inventory of everything belonging to beer giant Anheuser-Busch—popular brews like Bud Light and Stella Artois, which do quite well at the bar, said co-owner Stacy Lentz. But after learning of the contributions that Anheuser-Busch made to the lawmakers behind some of the more than 200 anti-trans bills passed in state legislatures this year, Lentz said they couldn't, in good conscience, sell the beer during Pride Weekend in New York. "We were just really kind of appalled and knew that we had to take a stand," Lentz said. This Health Brand's New Film Is a Meditative Love Letter to the Trans and Queer Community Zooming in on the dark side of 'rainbow washing' Stonewall's actions are in coordination with the "Keep Your Pride," a campaign launched at the beginning of June and funded by political activism group Corporate Accountability Action. It aims to hold five high-profile brands (Anheuser-Busch, AT&T, Coca-Cola, General Motors and NBC) accountable for their political contributions to lawmakers that sponsored or supported anti-trans legislation this year. It's also part of a broader backlash from the LGBTQ+ community this year. While "rainbow washing"—using the Pride flag as a June-specific promotional tool without an authentic connection to or support of the LGBTQ+ community—certainly isn't new, it has hit something of a fever pitch this year. Activists are quick to point out the irony in this year's omnipresent rainbow logos considering the record number of anti-LGBTQ+ bills passed by state legislatures so far in 2021. "Keep Your Pride" is asking brands to stop contributing to lawmakers who support anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, and pledge their support for the Equality Act, which passed out of the U.S. House in February and is currently in committee in the Senate. The bill would make it illegal to discriminate on the basis of sex, sexual orientation or gender identity. "These companies have an immense amount of power, and they should be using it to help the communities that they say they support," Maeve Coyner, spokesperson for "Keep Your Pride," told Adweek. Brands respond Several of the brands highlighted by "Keep Your Pride" have since issued statements, but only one has halted political contributions. Coca-Cola explained in a statement that "contributions made to candidates referenced in the campaign were made before the 2021 legislative sessions." The brand also added equality and inclusion to the list of criteria that it uses to evaluate candidates last fall, it said, and has had its political giving on pause since January. Anheuser-Busch said in a statement that it donates to "candidates that support the beer industry and the millions of jobs that it creates." It also highlighted its 23-year partnership with GLAAD and 100% score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index for LGBTQ+ Equality, a measurement that aims to analyze companies based on LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion but does not take into account political donations. AT&T, which released a statement in support of the Equality Act back in February, also highlighted its partnerships with the Human Rights Campaign and The Trevor Project, a nonprofit dedicated to preventing suicides among LGBTQ+ youth. "Our employee PACs contribute to policymakers in both major parties, and it will not agree with every PAC dollar recipient on every issue," AT&T said in a statement. NBC and General Motors did not respond to Adweek's request for comment by the time of writing. 'Take a look in the mirror' From a branding perspective, the "Keep Your Pride" campaign illustrates how important it is that brands "make sure that their own houses [are] in order" before making a commitment or statement that the entire company isn't truly behind, said Chris Lehtonen, vp of business development at agency Siegel+Gale. "It's a moment for companies to look at their political contributions, if they're going to do it at all," Lehtonen said. She also pointed out that many of these companies do fund organizations that support the LGBTQ+ community. But doing that while funding lawmakers who are legislating against the rights of those same people sends a mixed message, muddying the waters around brand purpose. "[Brands are] putting dollars in both piles. They're betting on red and betting on blue," Lehtonen explained. "They have to take a look in the mirror and see if they're going to continue that practice—how that squares with their business and their own consumers and how that's going to affect them."

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

As Activists Call Out Brands for Funding Anti-LGBTQ+ Lawmakers, Here's How They Are—and Should Be—Responding

Experts encourage companies to 'take a look in the mirror'

Kathryn Lundstrom

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Kathryn Lundstrom