Anyone else sick of still seeing Pride logos everywhere?

[Divoc2020]

I don't have a problem with Pride, and its role in raising awareness etc in the way that many campaigns have awareness days/ weeks etc. I can remember when it used to be a week, then it became a month (June). All fine.

But I've just seen John Lewis still has its Pride logo on its Facebook page, as does one of our local council pages and the Twitter feed of a group affiliated to the local police.

Surely the point of a month-long campaign is that it is, er, a month and then you revert back to your usual branding, or else the impact is lost?

I have to confess, some of this is a design and marketing issue for me, as the Pride versions of high street logos are usually appalling - the John Lewis one being a case in point!

Doesn't bother me in the slightest - so a company shows they're inclusive, so what?
I'm not LGBT but doesn't mean we should maybe let them have their month and that's it, be quiet now as that's how it comes across.

The month is one way of trying to get people's attention and channel energy, but ideally we should be thinking about these issues all year round, so I think it's great if it's becoming less of a 'gestural' thing and more embedded in the brand identity.

I don't feel in my city we have Pride week or even Pride month. It's basically Pride Summer.

It's pretty easy to see why corporations love it, it's very visible, makes them look like they are interested in all the buzzwords like diversity and inclusion, and it is about a group of people who overall are as good employees as anyone else (maybe better as less likely to have children unexpectedly,) as good consumers as anyone else (in fact tend to have higher disposable incomes.) And no need to do anything serious or challenging in your organisation to accommodate them. You can even pay an easy fee and get recognised as a leader in inclusivity and diversity!

And no need to do anything serious or challenging in your organisation to accommodate them

Exactly

Imo it signifies the agenda being pushed now. It's lost it's meaning.

I filled in a feed-back survey for a supermarket the other day and mentioned Pride Month. I suggested that they engage in a bit of critical thinking about what they are supporting (hopefully laying the foundations for next year).
LGB?: fine. The rest of the alphabet-soup?: there are some dodgy organisations in there and the supermarket ought to think carefully about who they are associating with.

exactly that goosefoot

companies bag on about how 'inclusive' they are cos Pride but are strangely silent about inclusivity when it involves doing things that might cost them money such as adapting buildings and business practices to accommodate people with disabilities

Maybe I'm too cynical, but I don't see it as an attempt to show they're inclusive - I see it as an attempt to make more money by virtue-signalling. But then I also dislike it when companies say they'll donate Xp to charity for every product sold when they could just donate the money.

Actions speak louder than logos.

@Kit19

exactly that goosefoot

companies bag on about how 'inclusive' they are cos Pride but are strangely silent about inclusivity when it involves doing things that might cost them money such as adapting buildings and business practices to accommodate people with disabilities

YY

"Doesn't bother me in the slightest - so a company shows they're inclusive, so what?"

Doesn't mean a damn, cheap to just stick a logo on everything, and follow non-discrimination policies they are legally required to follow anyway. And they hope they will get more of the pink pound because they have done so.......

Mostly empty virtue signalling at the moment.

@TheQueef

Imo it signifies the agenda being pushed now. It's lost it's meaning.

Yes, I think this is true.

Also, by extending the branding beyond Pride month it risks muddying the waters somewhat.
I think the rainbow has now also been taken over by the NHS during Covid, so perhaps people will just think JohnLewis are supporting the NHS?

However you look at it though, this logo is an abomination and does nothing for their brand identity!

My current favourite Pride flag:

www.standingforwomen.com/product-page/silencing-women-sticker

with "CELEBRATE DIVERSITY BY SILENCING WOMEN" across it....

Also, by extending the branding beyond Pride month it risks muddying the waters somewhat.
I think the rainbow has now also been taken over by the NHS during Covid, so perhaps people will just think JohnLewis are supporting the NHS?

Yes, that's why the corporate world has mostly adopted the aesthetically unpleasing new transactivist version to virtue signal with.

companies bag on about how 'inclusive' they are cos Pride but are strangely silent about inclusivity when it involves doing things that might cost them money such as adapting buildings and business practices to accommodate people with disabilities

Quite. It's lazy, easy woke cred.

@Ereshkigalangcleg

companies bag on about how 'inclusive' they are cos Pride but are strangely silent about inclusivity when it involves doing things that might cost them money such as adapting buildings and business practices to accommodate people with disabilities

Quite. It's lazy, easy woke cred.

www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/07/cancel-culture-and-problem-woke-capitalism/614086/

Helen Lewis wrote a piece about social radicalism and economic radicalism.

Social radicialism is cheap for the corporate world.

The NHS association has sanitised it a little, it was bordering on sinister before covid.

Yes I find the pride flag very threatening these days. Actions speak louder than words and those actions have included throwing women out of pride for stating their sexual boundries do not include a penis.

Thats not a welcoming symbol to many i should think.

@BraveGoldie

The month is one way of trying to get people's attention and channel energy, but ideally we should be thinking about these issues all year round, so I think it's great if it's becoming less of a 'gestural' thing and more embedded in the brand identity.

Month - MONTH? Last year we had it June to September - flags along Tottenham Court road and oxford street looked like a rainbow had landed on it for at least the whole of June.

Now the ‘inclusive’ version is appearing in mainstream organisations (ie mencap) too.

Remind me again what they all did for IWD?

I dare suggest identify politics is such a polarised mind field.

I am guessing most corporates are justifiably (perhaps) just after and looking out for their bottom line (your patronage expenditure) in an increasingly me me me super sensitive shouty social and antisocial personality media. Money talks and if that includes monetarisation of on trend identity politics then businesses will endeavour to leverage capitalise and jump on board that bandwagon. I am personally indifferent to the political marketing nonsense but will possibly contemplate avoiding particular businesses that promote stuff which is irrelevant or not to my preferred taste. Though I always think neutral is best to please both ideological camps.

I thought the whole multi colour rainbow thing represents the key NHS healthcare sector rather than just alternative adult lifestyle choices. I also don't particularly understand why sex is such a big thing in society as I perhaps naively and humbly believe certain personal activities are a matter for you and your spouse or partner etc as who cares what you do after hours. As long as laws including discrimination and equality is adhered to them who cares about this stuff. Each to their own and if necessary we can all be mutually respectful not polarise everything. John Lewis should be less political and keep to core values in my humble opinion as frequent parton, like selling stuff people want and keeping up standards of customer care and products at reasonable competitive price points.

Wokewashing, like greenwashing, is something one should regard with suspicion and ask what shoddy practices these corporations are attempting to deflect attention from by engaging in such branding exercises.

Yup.

My work are now actually saying “come and sign to this link to get your exclusive pride pack!”

No thanks.

I’m not straight. I still won’t click it

And yes it isn’t pride month anymore

It’s trans summer

Cos it’s all about trans now. Not gay, lesbians and bisexuals

It’s no long LGB it’s T

I also don't particularly understand why sex is such a big thing in society as I perhaps naively and humbly believe certain personal activities are a matter for you and your spouse or partner etc as who cares what you do after hours.

Well, that is the interesting thing about Pride. Theoretically, this is one area of "diversity" where, having achieved legal protections and pretty widespread social acceptance, you could almost have society forget the whole question of people's personal sexuality. No longer would it be a relevant "identity". Just people. That does NOT mean no one has an opinion about sexuality and how to deal with it, any more than people have opinions about Catholics or whatever, but presumably the goal has never been to enforce one ideological view of everything by all people.

At least, that seemed to be the goal expressed about gay rights back when I was young, that it was about it becoming a non-issue, and we'd look at gay and lesbian people and treat them like everyone else, etc. Pride however is quite a different beast now, and actively works against that goal, it's about defining oneself, creating a sort of brand identity, a group to be marketed to or used for political purposes. Being a well-educated group, usually with good jobs, they are very appealing.

This may be why they'd liked picking up the "T" as they can make claims to be oppressed in terms of health care, jobs, etc.

IMO it is a lazy, passive way of making companies look as if they are doing something good, being inclusive.
Yet some of these companies are the same ones that automatically bin any job application from someone with a disability or mental health diagnosis. I know it happens because I have seen it.