Marketing with Pride: Authenticity, allyship and accountability

Every June, it begins. Logos turn rainbow. Limited-edition packaging hits the shelves. Social feeds are filled with messages of solidarity. But then, quietly, come July, it all disappears…

There is, without doubt, a commercial side to Pride. People want to spend money with brands that genuinely share their values. But this can backfire if, when you strip away the rainbow filter, you find that a brand isn't actually doing much behind the scenes. And people do notice. Consumers, and the LGBTQ+ community in particular, have gotten very good at spotting the difference between a brand that stands for something and one that simply stands in front of it.

So the real question isn't whether brands should show up for Pride. Of course they should. It's how they can do that credibly and in a way that continues to earn trust beyond the month itself. 

Start from the inside

It's easy to focus on what people see from the outside: the bold creative, the clever copy, the big partnerships, the one-off products, the amusing social posts. That's all the fun stuff. But when it comes to being authentic, the real test starts somewhere less glamorous: on the inside.

If a brand flies the flag for LGBTQ+ inclusion in public, but its own policies and employee experience tell a completely different story, the cracks will quickly start to show. Maybe not right away, and perhaps not with a scandalous front-page headline, but it will show. 

Employees, customers and communities are far more connected than they used to be, which means brands can't easily separate what they say externally from how they behave behind closed doors.

As Marc Allenby, co-founder and CCO at Hijinks and co-creative director at Outvertising, explains: "Your approach should be more than a campaign for Pride month - it should be always on, a year-round effort. Audiences these days, especially Gen Z, can easily spot - and are quick to point out - when a campaign is performative or gimmicky. It's really important that it ladders into your company's policies and that nothing else you're doing as a brand contradicts that approach. Make it part of your company ecosystem, rather than a once-a-year badging exercise."

This is where Pride marketing can get a bit uncomfortable for marketers, because the answer doesn't always sit within the marketing department. A campaign might have a lovely message and nice visuals, but if there's no LGBTQ+ employee network and poor inclusion policies, the creative will only take a brand so far.

As Hayley Knight, co-founder and communications director at BE YELLOW and former head of PR at Pride in London, explains: "External storytelling only carries weight when it is backed with internal culture. Customers are intelligent and they know when they are being sold to, or engaged with. They want to know that LGBTQ+ inclusion goes beyond sales." In other words, what happens inside the business needs to back up what the brand says in public. Without that, the campaign starts to feel fake - and audiences will switch off quickly.

Now, that doesn't mean brands need to be perfect before they speak up. But it does mean asking honest questions before anything goes live. Has the campaign been built on real evidence, or is it purely vibes and good intentions? Have LGBTQ+ voices actually been the foundation for this or were they brought in at the very end simply to sign off? Are employees properly supported all year round? Is everyone involved (suppliers, creators, etc.) being paid fairly? Is this a long-term commitment?

Values aren't just important to who you're trying to reach. Nearly nine in 10 Gen Z professionals say they would consider switching jobs for a better values fit. If the people inside your own organisation don't believe the message, why should anyone else?

Stop treating Pride as a theme

Once the internal work has been done, the next question is whether the campaign actually adds anything. 

It doesn't have to be huge. Not every brand needs (or can afford) a major sponsorship or national campaign. But there should be a clear answer to the question: how does this help the community it's speaking to?

That could look like raising money for LGBTQ+ organisations, using brand channels to amplify existing voices, actually paying LGBTQ+ creators and consultants properly, investing in community talent, or creating something that solves a real problem. The idea is simple: stop treating Pride as a theme and start treating it as a chance to genuinely do some good.

Knight says brands that do this well "actively work with consultants and community members to truly understand what the community actually needs in terms of support and action."

That might sound obvious, but it's where many campaigns miss the mark. Too often, brands decide what they want to say before they understand what the community actually needs from them. As Allenby explains: "Brands need to engage directly with communities to understand what they actually need, not what brands assume or what benefits only them. Prioritise uplifting existing voices and people already doing the work."

That also means thinking carefully about representation. As Allenby points out, brands have a responsibility for ensuring the people creating the work are part of the community, "but also that they're not feeding any stereotypes." Inclusion isn't just about who's in the campaign, but who's shaped it, challenged it, and helped ensure it reflects the breadth and nuance of the LGBTQ+ experience. 

This is also where marketers need to think beyond the campaign itself. Who's being paid? Who's deciding the strategy? Which partners, suppliers and agencies are involved? Is the brand building long-term relationships with LGBTQ+ organisations, or simply borrowing that credibility for a few weeks?

Knight points to Hinge as one example of a brand taking a more useful approach. Its NFAQ platform was created with LGBTQIA+ therapists, activists and advocates to answer the "not-so-frequently asked questions" queer daters often face. That’s what makes it feel more credible: it responds to something people actually experience, rather than treating Pride as a purely brand-building exercise.

Absolut is another example often used. The brand has a long history of advertising in LGBTQ+ media, working with LGBTQ+ artists and supporting organisations such as GLAAD. You don't necessarily need that kind of history to back you up, but you do need consistency.

Plan for the pushback

Even when brands do everything right, Pride campaigns can still come under fire, and marketing teams need to be prepared for that. Some of it might come from people who oppose LGBTQ+ inclusion altogether. Some may come from within the community itself, particularly if they feel that the work is clumsy or inconsistent. You need to consider both scenarios before going live.

This is where accountability matters. Marketers need to know what the brand is prepared to stand behind, who's responsible for responding to criticism, and how it will support any LGBTQ+ employees, creators, partners or spokespeople involved. As Allenby says: "Don't deflect or roll back your support - that's a terrible look for any brand, and it won't endear you to anyone."

He cites Nike and Skittles as companies that have consistently supported and celebrated the Pride community. Nike's long-running BeTrue platform, for example, has supported LGBTQIA+ athletes and community organisations, including groups creating safer spaces for trans, non-binary and intersex young people in sport. Skittles has also built a recognisable Pride platform by giving up its own rainbow during Pride and partnering with GLAAD, including a $200,000 contribution in 2025 to support LGBTQ+ visibility in media and entertainment. 

That doesn't mean brands should be defensive. There's a difference between standing by LGBTQ+ communities and refusing to acknowledge when something has genuinely missed the mark. If a campaign causes harm, brands need to listen, respond properly and fix it. But if the work comes from a genuine place, with proper action behind it, the brand should be willing to stand by it. 

Tom Ghiden, managing director at adam&eve\TBWA, makes an important point here: "The real issue is that brands are so paralysed by fear of backlash that they're choosing inaction over potentially imperfect action."

That fear makes sense. But it can't be an excuse not to do anything. Being silent isn’t a strategy. What’s needed is better preparation: bringing in the right people early on, testing the work, understanding the cultural context, making sure leadership knows what's happening, and being ready to explain not just what you're doing, but why.