By Jess Peters, Senior Strategist, Impero
Trump’s inauguration felt dystopian and surreal, like watching the Hunger Games to many. For members of the queer community and their allies, his announced rollback on trans, gender-identity and LGBTIQ+ rights was no movie – it was all too real.
The new president is taking aim at DEI across the board. Inclusive advocacy organization GLAAD logged that Trump publicly signaled his anti-LBGTIQ+ stance as president-elect at least 255 times through words or actions.
Two of the orders he revoked on his first day in office included a Biden directive aimed at preventing discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation. The Washington Post even reported gay couples racing to the altar before Trump took office, alarmed by his negative stance on LGBTIQ+ marriage in the past.
It’s imperative that our industry makes a stand and shows up in support of the LGBTIQ+ community.
Not just because it is the right thing to do for society but because it’s good for business. A recent global study from the Unstereotype Alliance shows that ad campaigns that are more inclusive have a positive impact on profits, sales and brand worth.
There is also plenty of research to show the effectiveness of inclusive ads among both LGBTQIA+ and non-LGBTQIA+ audiences. A study from GLAAD found that more than two-thirds of non-LGBT+ people feel better about buying products from brands who put LGBT+ people in their ad. Meanwhile, research from Outvertising shows that 67% of LGBTQIA+ consumers are more likely to recommend products they see in advertising than their non-LGBTIA+ peers.
However, to have an impact, brand action has to go further than short-term, tokenistic campaigns. We need to be here for the community in the long term.
For most brands, LGBTIQ+ inclusion work begins and ends with Pride month, when rainbows flood advertisements, social feeds, and storefronts. But once the glitter fades and the parade crowds disperse, the question lingers: Who is fighting for the LGBTIQ+ community year-round?
Brands must fully commit to the cause if they are going to do so at all.
Outside June, only 1% of ads openly feature LGBTIQ+ characters or topics, according to a Nielsen survey. The issue is that jumping on the bandwagon without fully committing to the cause can lead to performative allyship that lacks genuine impact or authenticity. Then we see stereotype-filled campaigns that get representation wrong and leave queer audiences feeling disconnected. Burger King Austria’s ‘Pride Whopper,’ featuring sandwiches with two top or two bottom buns, exemplifies this tone-deaf approach, alienating the very community they aimed to celebrate.
Writing this piece, I struggled to think of brands that authentically represent the experiences of queer women. While recent collaborations such as Google’s ‘Pride Dream Team’ with a group of queer Lionnesses have started to turn the tide, standout work is still a rarity.
That said, Renault’s ’30 Years in the Making’ ad still stands out as a heartfelt depiction of a lesbian love story that didn’t feel forced or exploitative. Instead, it offered a genuine representation of queer women’s experiences. After years of heteronormative families dominating tear-jerking ads, it was refreshing to see the same thoughtful treatment extended to the queer community. Of course, this is all part of Renault’s long-standing commitment to LGBTIQ+ representation. Queer stories have been central to its ads for decades, from ‘Gay Cop’ in 2003 to 2012’s ‘Gay Marriage’.
A Harris Insights & Analytics survey reported that 63% of millennials and Gen Z believe it’s more important than ever for brands to support the LGBTIQ+ community publicly. So don’t believe the line that people are against this representation.
Brands that walk the walk
GAP is another standout LGBTIQ+ ally. By integrating inclusivity and intersectionality into every layer of its brand and business and weaving in a consistent narrative of emboldened self-expression, GAP truly walks the walk on LGBTIQ+ rights.
Recent campaigns have featured queer icon Troye Sivan and deaf transgender model and activist Chella Man. But GAP’s internal DEI initiatives are also driving this creativity. Equality and Belonging groups – created by employees to build a workforce that reflects its customer base – alongside partnerships with DEI charities like GenderCool and its ‘Open to All’ Business Pledge, are all embedded in the company’s DNA.
Absolut, one of our clients at Impero, also shows consistent LGBTIQ+ representation with campaigns featuring and collaborating with queer artists like Olly Alexander and the Andy Warhol Foundation. Tinder, meanwhile, not only wins at representing a diverse and inclusive range of couples across their ads, but they also run the Empower Hour podcast series, featuring activists such as transgender model and changemaker Munroe Bergdorf, to give gender topics year-round visibility.
Naturally, it’s not easy for brands to step into unfamiliar territory. Despite reports that 90% of senior marketing executives believe it’s “very important” to feature LGBTIQ+ people in advertising, there was also a 55% rise in executives saying they don’t have the expertise to “get it right.”
To support the LGBTIQ+ community authentically and consistently, brands and agencies need to:
Look internally first: Make sure your brand’s internal practices and values align with external messaging to build credibility. Support the LGBTIQ+ community through everyday DEI brand work, internal initiatives and community groups, and by hiring diverse teams. Also, consider working with external DEI/LGBTIQ+ partners such as We Create Space, a queer community-run platform delivering DEI consultation, training, and workshops for leading organizations like P&G and Doc Martens.
Make a year-round commitment: Ensure LGBTIQ+ representation and DEI is baked into your ongoing creative and briefing processes year-round, not just in one-off Pride Month campaigns.
Build authenticity through collaboration: Partner with LGBTIQ+ talent, employees, and organizations to create genuine, impactful campaigns and listen to LGBTIQ+ voices during the creative process. Provide platforms for the community to share their stories instead of speaking on their behalf.
Focus on intersectional representation: Consider perspectives that aren’t often seen. An intersectional approach will ensure LGBTIQ+ inclusion efforts reflect the diverse experiences within the community by addressing overlapping identities like race, gender, and class.
Avoid Exploitation: Ensure campaigns contribute meaningfully to the LGBTIQ+ community and don’t exploit by giving something back or helping to create positive change.
Stop letting fear hold you back: More inclusive advertising makes for more stories to tell and more POVs to explore. There’s a world of untouched creativity and undiscovered talent that could help you push your work further. And worries about being ‘woke’ could be stopping you from something amazing. New perspectives and work aligning with LGBTIQ+ values and talent could also push your brand into new audiences and markets you haven’t engaged yet.
So, as Trump publicly crushes progress on LGBTIQ+ rights, as an industry, let’s commit to creating work that truly stands beside the LGBTIQ+ community 365 days a year.
Jess Peters (she/her) is a senior strategist at Impero, a bisexual woman, and an ally of the LGBTIQ+ community.
