‘The year brands blinked’: While some brands skipped Pride, campaigns from Wildfang, Levi’s stood out

Wildfang, which specializes in gender-free clothing, launched a Pride campaign this year which served as the modeling debut of Vivian Wilson, a 21-year-old trans woman who has been disowned by her billionaire father, Elon Musk. They shot a brand campaign in Los Angeles and designed a T-shirt that said “Existing Shouldn’t be Revolutionary.” All proceeds from the T-shirt, plus 10% of the company’s other sales, went to The Trevor Project which supports LGBTQ youth. McIlroy said the launch generated about 80,000 likes at the outset plus press coverage and brand awareness. She credited these bigger brand partnerships — like last year’s launch of the Debbie Harry collection — with helping the company recently turn profitable.

But six months into the second Trump administration, there’s been a noticeable pullback in brands willing to put out consumer-facing Pride campaigns. Nearly two out of every five Fortune 500 and Global 100 companies pulled back their Pride Month activities this year, according to a Gravity Research poll in April. And none of their executives said they’d be increasing their engagement. As for why, 61% cited the Trump administration as the top reason for rethinking Pride strategies this year, the survey found.

To McIlroy, it’s a disappointment — and a saddening one at a time when the community could use extra, not less, support. This year has seen the rollback of protections of the LGBTQ+ community since Trump’s earliest executive orders, with three and a half years to go.

“The gap is evident,  and the gap is obvious. And there’s no other way to explain that, which is [brands are] scared. They’re scared of a backlash. And that tells me that their efforts in this space, historically, may have been less authentic than we thought. It was a market play and nothing else,” McIlroy said.

The tradition of Pride Month started in commemoration of the Stonewall Riots in 1970. In the decades since, it’s become a kind of cultural touchstone — one that’s meant to celebrate, empower and provide solitary to people in the LGBTQ+ community. And in more recent years, Pride Month has become something of an opportunity for companies that want to reach out to their queer customers.

But Matt Tumminello, founder of marketing agency Target 10 that exclusively focuses on the LGBTQ+ consumer segment, said this year felt like “the year that brands blinked.” His agency is working on a study that looks at how many brands participated in Pride Month this year, and he said it was disappointing to see some major brands sit out. Nissan and Anheuser-Busch, for instance, drew back support for the San Francisco Pride events. Target, in particular, had been a big Pride celebrator in the past with people who looked forward to its collection “every year,” Tumminello said. But this year — especially in the context of its changes to its DEI policies — its merch collection felt more like an afterthought, Tumminello said.

The Pride branding was less prominent on products: One beige sweatshirt, for example, had the words “out loud and proud” written in tiny lettering on the hoodie strings, while a black shirt had a small rainbow tag in the corner. While walking through a New York City Target, Tumminello found product tags that still had placeholder text instead of product descriptions. He also took note of displays that didn’t have any Pride-specific sayings but featured rainbow-colored clothes and Chappell Roan records.

“Brands went quiet, and the brands that played it safe flinched,” he said. “They missed an opportunity to lead with values and speak directly to the community.”

Against that backdrop, the brands that excelled in their messages and outreach stood out. Tumminello pointed to Levi’s “Meet Me in the Park” campaign that highlighted friends hanging out together. According to a company statement, the campaign celebrates “the collective strength of safe, inclusive spaces where LGBTQ+ individuals can truly be themselves.”

“They’re not saying, ‘Love is love.’ They’re not saying, ‘Levi’s is proud to support you all.’ What Levi’s is doing very well is telling their brand story through a queer lens,” Tumminello said.

Levi’s 2025 Pride clothing was designed by LGBTQ+ creators, it said in a collection description. It has a focus on reclaiming symbols “that have had different and, at times, fraught meanings throughout history but that continue to carry profound significance in modern LGBTQ+ communities and advocacy,” the statement said. That includes an upside-down triangle on a pink shirt. In its hometown of San Francisco, it partnered with a local gay bar called The Stud on an exclusive patch collection. Employees march in the city’s Pride parade, a tradition for over three decades.

Tumminello said Levi’s also stands out because the company has a commitment to the community outside of Pride Month. Since 2015, it’s been one of the few companies to publicly show support for the Equality Act, a federal proposal to outlaw LGBTQ+ discrimination. And shareholders recently overwhelmingly voted down an activist-backed plan to undo its DEI policies. “Diversity and inclusion principles are critical in ensuring that our products reflect and are relevant to our diverse global consumer base,” Levi’s board wrote.

Consistency, Tumminello said, is a key tenet of effective brand communication to multicultural or marginalized audiences. “They’re also talking to us in October, in April. They’re not ghosting us after June,” he said.

For brands, being mindful of how to communicate values to shoppers is of increasing importance. About 64% of U.S. adult shoppers say they prefer to buy from companies that support their social values, according to the latest update of Morning Consult’s Global Corporate Purpose Tracker.

But there’s a split in the population on whether shoppers want to see brands take a stand in the world of LGBTQ+ rights. The tracker also show that about 41% of U.S. consumers support corporate activism on transgender rights, compared to 36% who oppose it. Similarly, about 43% of those surveyed said they support corporate activism on gay marriage, compared to 34% who don’t. 

Among the LGBTQ+ community, Tumminello said many shoppers notice who stands up for rights and who doesn’t. He noted how Pride parades around the country faced funding shortfalls due to companies pulling back support. Conversely, many companies that do Pride Month-related campaigns, like Wildfang, use it as a moment to support aligned causes. Makeup company MAC, for instance, helped put on 20 Pride events around the country. Its Pride celebration also included the launch of a Viva Glam lip gloss with trans pop star Kim Petras, and it pledged all proceeds plus an additional $1 million to LGBTQ+ charities.

“Pride shouldn’t be the foundation of a marketing strategy. It’s not a moment to capitalize on,” Tumminello said. “It’s not to say that Pride can’t be a part of marketing. But It’s a moment to stand with LGBTQ+ people who are facing discrimination, violence and lack of legal equality.”