Target and Bud Light recently came under fire for their efforts to appeal to the LGBTQ+ community, only to come under more fire when they tried to backpedal.But even as they battle the negative publicity, Target and Bud Light haven't pulled away from this year's Pride celebrations. Target is a platinum sponsor of NYC Pride, which requires a $175,000 donation. And Bud Light's parent Anheuser-Busch is a sponsor of Pride celebrations in Chicago, San Francisco, Charlotte and elsewhere.
InterPride, which represents more than 375 Pride organizations globally, said 40% have reported their sponsorship dollars are up 20% or more this year. That's an abrupt change from last year, when a majority of negative social media posts were focused on brands being "inauthentic" and not truly supporting the LGBTQ population even as they expanded their offerings.
Six weeks earlier, transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney revealed on social media that Bud Light had sent her a commemorative can emblazoned with her picture. Boycott threats immediately followed, fueled by conservative commentators such as Matt Walsh, who has 1.9 million Twitter followers. "Companies may not be anti-LGBTQ, but they don't want to be putting their employees in a potentially dangerous space," Lopez said.
When Anheuser-Busch's multi-year sponsorship agreement with Miami Beach Pride ended in 2021, the organization signed a new multi-year contract with Molson Coors. Robert Legere, director of sponsorships for Miami Beach Pride, noted that Molson Coors' seltzer brand Vizzy made a $1 million donation to the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ+ group.
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