After Years of Gains, the LGBTQ+ Community Was Mostly Missing From Super Bowl 57 Ads

Americans who count themselves as members of the LGBTQ+ community number some 20 million people, according to the Human Rights Campaign. And today, reflecting on the elaborate, glamorous and consummately clever commercial work on display during Super Bowl 57, a good many of them are probably wondering: Where were we all? Because while this year's Big Game advertising fairly overflowed with diversity in terms of culture, ethnicity, age and body type, it was notably short in the LGBTQ+ department, both in terms of actors and themes. The queer community did get a few seconds in the spotlight. Doritos’ spot featured a cameo by Elton John (in a hot pink suit and playing the triangle). And the NFL’s own ad featured tennis legend Billie Jean King. Both celebrities were pioneers of a kind: Elton John came out as bisexual as early as 1976. King, who was outed as a lesbian in 1981 and lost a fortune in brand endorsements because of it, today enjoys a mythic status both as a tennis player and a lesbian who married her former doubles partner Ilana Kloss in 2018. But the tally pretty much ends there. Overtly queer themes? Same-sex couples? Forget it. The question, of course, is why. The Viral Moments That Defined Super Bowl 57 The rise and decline As recently as two years ago, it looked like major brands—as in the ones that could afford to front the then-$6.5 million for 30 seconds in a football game—had finally acquired a measure of comfort with the LGBT+ community. According to the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), 2020’s Super Bowl ads were a high water mark, with 11 instances of LGBT+ people or themes. “A rainbow wave will be rolling through Super Bowl LIV as LGBTQ+ icons step out on the field and during commercial breaks,” the group announced at the time. Among the notable examples that year were Budweiser’s casting of Ashlyn Harris and Ali Krieger, World Cup soccer champs—and a married couple. Microsoft’s spot featured Katie Sowers, the San Francisco 49ers’ openly gay offensive assistant coach. Doritos signed the openly gay singer and rapper Lil Nas X, who came out via Twitter in 2019. (“Some of y’all already know, some of y’all don’t care, some of y’all not gone fwm no more,” the defiant vocalist wrote.) But by 2021, the tally dropped to four. Last year, the website OutSports reported, there was “only one in-game TV commercial that in any way features LGBTQ people or same-sex couples.” We saw M&Ms get pulled into this culture war. My guess is that brands are afraid of getting pulled into that.Jack Mackinnon, senior director, Collage Group Obviously, no brand issued a statement explaining why they elected to omit the queer community in their ads—or whether doing so was even intentional. But the experts have a few educated guesses. Foremost is the M&M debacle. Beware Ms. Green In January 2022, the Mars candy brand’s anthropomorphic “spokescandies” got a remake that eliminated their honorifics (Mr. or Ms.) and other traditional gender markers: Red lost his bossiness, and Green traded in her high-heeled boots for sneakers. “M&M's is on a mission right now to create a world where everyone feels they belong,” M&M’s global vp Jane Hwang told Adweek at the time. But those seemingly anodyne changes resulted in M&M’s coming under attack for being overly woke. Most vocal was Fox's Tucker Carlson, who raged that “M&Ms will not be satisfied until every last cartoon character is deeply unappealing and totally androgynous.” Seemingly stung by the backlash—or perhaps simply making fun of it—M&M’s announced this January that the characters would be retiring. Histrionic and trivial as that controversy might have been, no brand wants to be next. “We saw M&Ms get pulled into this culture war,” said Jack Mackinnon, senior director for cultural insights at consumer research firm Collage Group. “My guess is that brands are afraid of getting pulled into that, and so have been steering away in favor of inclusion and more diverse storytelling [in] multicultural segments.” For the record, M&M’s didn't retire the candy crew: It trotted them right back out in all their gender-neutral glory at the game's end. Even that, however, was hardly an overt nod to the nonbinary crowd. The 10 Best Super Bowl Ads of 2023 A retreat to familiar ground Advertisers seemed more comfortable defining inclusivity in terms of race and culture, and there was no shortage of ethnic diversity in this year’s ads. Black and white friends bounced around in shiny new Jeeps. A multiracial cast of comedians including Frank Castillo, Atsuko Okatsuka and Yamaneika Saunders roasted Mr. Peanut in the Planters spot. Uber One trotted out musical talent of color galore—Kelis, Montell Jordan, P Diddy and the Trinidad-born Haddaway. Even the E*Trade babies who got married in this year’s spot were a mixed-race couple. Mackinnon speculated that racial diversity is now familiar turf for brands. It follows that the dearth of LGBTQ+ themes and characters may be “because the comfort level among brands is newer [with that group] compared to multicultural representation.” The Super Bowl’s very large, very general audience (over 99 million last year) may also play a part. “Brands are going to play it safe in Super Bowl ads that cost a ton and have everybody’s eyes on,” Mackinnon said. The price of avoidance When it comes to social issues, it’s no surprise that corporate America prefers to err on the safe side. But there may be a hidden cost. “While we don’t know exactly why LGBTQ visibility in Super Bowl ads is waning, we know it will negatively impact the bottom line for brands,” GLAAD’s director of agencies, brands and engagement Meghan Bartley told Adweek. “GLAAD research shows the majority of consumers look favorably upon companies that include LGBTQ people in ads and will abandon brands that stay silent on issues that matter to them.” Adweek Supercut: Every Super Bowl 57 Ad in Under 2 Minutes Collage Group’s research takes this idea a step further, especially when it comes to younger shoppers. A recent survey found that Gen Z consumers prefer to support brands that exhibit inclusivity overall, whether those consumers personally belong to that group or not. For example, 55% of respondents in Collage Group’s study said they’d be more likely to buy from brands whose marketing includes Black Americans, even though U.S. Census data shows that African Americans are 13.6% of the population. When it came to LGBTQ+ inclusivity, Collage Group’s research found that nearly half—46%—of respondents said they’d be more likely to buy from brands that embrace that community openly. Queer inclusivity in marketing “communicates a value,” Mackinnon said. “We know that Gen Z and millennials as well as others are looking for that and have a high demand for that.”